Expendables on the Edge
by FictionWriter91
Summary: Barney and his team were involved in the War. Before they return home, Tool asks them to rescue his niece, Rita Vrataski. Things begin to get more complicated as the team tries to track down the person behind it all and bring them to justice. Rita and Lee have a connection, but Lee can't remember why, and Barney is facing memories of the War while hiding a secret.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Of course I'm already back with another story. I've been puttering with it for two months now, and I'm finally posting it.**

**Yes, it's a crossover with Edge of Tomorrow (See my Edge of Expendable series if you like this story). Rita is from Edge of Tomorrow. She was the Angel of Verdun (and Full Metal Bitch) who had the ability to reset the day 24 hours back, and she fought an extra 300 days to try to end the war. I always do character development and explain important things so that you don't necessarily have to have seen the film.**

**I really hope you enjoy this story. It is Barney centered and Lee/Rita centered. After this chapter, I fill in the blanks by incorporating past events. **

**Happy reading!**

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**2020  
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Pain, blinding pain. Light shining through slit blinds. The sounds of laughter and goading. More pain.

She had detached herself in the way she had repeatedly done before in past events. She watched from across the room as her body was put through pain. There was one thought, though, that kept circling her mind.

If she had just kept her guard up, this never would have happened.

**Somewhere in England**

"We were unbelievably lucky to survive this," Barney Ross said, looking at his team. They were all bloody and worn out. They had spent the last month taking down the immobilized Mimics and Alphas and cleaning up the mess left behind. Before that, they'd been involved in the invasion in France. They were originally deemed "too old" to fight in the beginning, but when the UDF got desperate after many soldiers were killed, they started taking on anyone who wanted to fight. That was when Barney and the others headed over to help. The War had been the worst thing Barney had ever seen in his life. At his age, that was saying something.

"I feel lucky all right," Hale Caesar commented dryly. "When do we get to go home again?"

"After garbage clean up," Gunner Jensen answered.

"It's a lot of damn trash, man," Doctor Death, a.k.a. Doc, sighed.

"Is it just me, or do these things seem harder to get rid of dead than when they were alive?" Toll Road asked.

"Are you insane?" Yin Yang asked, incredulous. "Much, much easier dead."

"Once we clear this field, we can go home," Barney answered for Caesar. "Our duty is done."

"I can't wait," Lee Christmas said. He'd been quiet most of the day. He was thinking about how there was nothing waiting for him when he got home. Lacy had left him a long time ago, saying she couldn't handle what he did anymore, so he was alone and never bothered to be with anyone else because he didn't want the pain of being left again. Barney claimed it made him bitter, and maybe it did, but he didn't care.

"What are the Juniors doing?" Gunner asked, referring to Galgo, Mars, Thorn, John, and Luna.

"Finishing up their area and then going home. Just like us," Barney answered. He knew they hadn't seen a lot of action, but they had helped out in other ways for the War.

"They better not beat us home and call dibs on our stuff," Toll warned. He did not want any newbies taking over his stuff.

Barney said nothing as his phone rang with a video message. His face broke into a smile when he saw who it was.

"Hey, Tool, did you wanna see firsthand what we're doing out here?" he asked, joking. Then his face faltered at the sight of Tool's serious expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Everyone stopped what they were doing to listen.

"Barney," Tool said. "I need a favor."

"Anything, man," Barney promised. "What is it?"

"They...they have my niece," Tool answered shakily.

"You have a niece?" Lee asked, surprised.

"Who's 'they?'" Yang questioned.

"They're going to kill her, Barney," Tool went on, ignoring Lee and Yang. "They sent me a picture."

Barney saw the photo come in from Tool, and he flicked it open. His stomach clenched at the sight of a woman lying on the ground with obvious signs of a beating.

"Where is she?" he asked Tool, steadying his breathing as he recognized who it was. How was this woman Tool's niece? How had he not known this information?

"I found out they are moving her," Tool said. "My sources tell me she is somewhere in Germany, but she won't be there for long."

"Get me that information," Barney instructed. "I will get her back, Tool. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't necessarily keep, Barney," Tool warned.

"I didn't," Barney replied. They hung up, and he looked at his team. Gunner had taken down the last immobilized Mimic with gusto. Their duty was done.

"Well, that didn't take long," Caesar said. "Mission already?"

"I'm ready to face real people again," Toll commented. "Let's go."

"Who's his niece?" Lee asked, looking over Barney's shoulder as Tool's text came in with the rest of the information.

"Rita Vrataski."

Barney was still in shock. He still couldn't get over that Rita was Tool's niece. How had they gone this long in their relationship without Tool mentioning he had family?

"Who has her?" Gunner questioned before Yang could.

"An old enemy of Tool's," Barney answered. "Ivan Zolotov."

"Rita Vrataski as in Sergeant Major Rita Vrataski?" Lee asked, shocked. "Full Metal Bitch?"

"Angel of Verdun," Toll added, realizing.

"How the hell did anyone get the drop on her?" Caesar asked, genuinely confused. Everyone knew you did not mess with her.

"That's what we're gonna find out," Barney answered.

...

She lifted her head, enduring the pain that came with that small gesture. She was alone now. She had no idea where she was. She heard nothing. She briefly wondered if she was going to die there. She had no idea who these people were or why they were doing this to her. She did know, however, that if she could just die, she could go back and avoid this whole thing.

If only someone would just kill her already.

...

"This feels familiar," Toll commented as they geared up in the back of Barney's plane. It had somehow managed to survive the war.

"Yea. I don't miss putting on all that heavy armor," Doc agreed. He sheathed his knives and holstered his guns. He looked towards the front of the plane where Barney and Lee were sitting. He knew something was up with Lee, but he just didn't know what.

"I miss Omya Kaboom," Caesar lamented. This earned a chuckle from everyone. Indeed, it would be handy to have that gun back.

"What's with you?" Barney asked Lee as he vaguely listened to the laughter coming from the back.

"Nothing," Lee answered.

"No, I think it's something. Come on now. Ever since I said Rita's name, you've been like a stone wall."

"I met her," Lee said quietly.

"Oh? Where?" Barney asked, playing dumb. He damn well knew where.

"When we were at Heathrow base, waiting for battle on the beach the next day. I'm just having a hard time imagining someone getting her like that," Lee shook his head. From what he remembered, Rita was tough. He had left out the knife throwing contest he'd had with her as well as her almost kissing him before running off and laughing, leaving him standing and wondering what had just happened. Barney did not need to know that. Lee had thought about Rita ever since, and here she was in trouble. He kept the anger at bay for now. He'd use it when it was necessary.

"If Tool's source is good, we'll have her back before dinnertime," Barney promised. Or he'd die trying.

...

They were moving her. She barely registered anything as they half carried, half dragged her out. She wondered what they had done to the rest of her team, who had been helping her clean up the Mimics. She did, however, see the safety pin sticking out of the one man's collar. That was stupid, incredibly stupid, of him. She lunged, grabbing him. She had seconds before they were on her, but it was only seconds she needed. The pin was secure in her hand as they carried on. She was going to be free of this sooner than later.

...

"A train? Are you kidding?" Gunner asked. He remembered the last train rescue he'd done as he looked at Doc.

"I wonder if they have a gun at the front," Doc mused.

"No heli this time," Barney said. "Just trucks."

"So we gotta jump on?" Toll asked. "That's not a giveaway at all."

"I'll be the decoy," Barney answered. "Their attention will be on me. You guys take the other side, and while they're distracted, jump on."

"This sounds like a plan that's got lots of holes in it," Caesar commented.

"You gotta go fast," Barney said. "Because there is a train trestle. Once it goes over, I can't follow."

"Hole number one," Caesar gestured.

"Let me guess, there's a tunnel too?" Gunner asked.

"Yea," Barney answered.

"Hole number two," Caesar said. "Literally."

"Would you stop?" Toll asked, nudging him.

"If your legs were as fast as your mouth, you'd be just fine," Gunner told Caesar. He ducked the swing of the fist in return.

"Lee, Yin, and Toll on the train," Barney said, ignoring them all. "Caesar and Gunner in the second truck. Doc, you're with me."

"Excellent," Doc nodded.

"I miss Trench," Yang commented. "His jobs not so complicated."

"Well, you can go running back as soon as we're done here," Barney told him a little sarcastically.

"Deal," Yang agreed.

"Saddle up," Barney said, getting into his truck. It was time.

...

She was put into a small room on the train. She worked the safety pin in her hand to get it on the right angle. She briefly worried that it was too small for the lock on her cuffs. She was going to try anyway. She had not counted on the guard being left in the room with her. That was going to be an inconvenience.

...

Gunner took out the lingering men on the train who were looking their way as Lee, Yang, and Toll jumped onto the train. Lee had almost missed, but he caught the edge at the last second. Toll grabbed the back of his vest and lifted him up onto the top.

"Thanks," Lee nodded. Yang had the hatch open, and they dropped down inside. At first, Lee couldn't see anything, but his eyes eventually adjusted. They checked all rooms, nooks, and crannies while taking out guards.

"That looks a lot like a holding room to me," Toll commented as they came across one with a big bolt on the front.

"Yea," Lee nodded.

"We'll guard," Yang said, gesturing. Lee set to work on the door, sliding the bolt back easily. He opened it and stepped inside.

...

She was waiting for someone to check in on her. As soon as the door opened, she pounced. She hit his chest with the heel of her hand and kicked his left leg while smashing her elbow into his face. Her attacker was taken by surprise, and he didn't even fight back, which surprised her. She eventually got behind him, tightening her elbow around his neck.

He shouted and flipped them both over, knocking the wind out of her for a moment and causing savage pain to shoot through her from her injuries. She made to jump to her feet when he got a hold of her arms and pinned her down to prevent her from hitting him again.

"Stand down, damn it," he ordered. "I'm on your side. I'm getting you out of here."

She finally looked at him, and she felt surprised.

"Lee?" she asked.

"Yea, Rita," he answered. "It's me. You good?"

"I'm good," she said, and he released her and helped her to her feet. Lee was visibly angered by the condition of her. She stood there with a defiant look on her face. No one was going to knock her down and not get her wrath in return.

"What are you-?" he asked as she reached and boldly took one of his guns and knives from his belt and holster.

"Bare fists can only do so much, you know," she commented, moving to exit. It was slow due to her limp. She had hurt that even more when she had kicked Lee. She wished she hadn't acted to hastily now.

"Hang on," Lee said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You stay behind me."

"I'm not incapable..."

"I never said you were, but you are injured, and I'm not going to let anyone injure you further."

Rita was feeling frustrated, but she knew he was just looking out for her. She knew that about him, that he cared for people.

"Fine," she huffed.

"We good?" Toll asked when they emerged.

"Yea, let's go," Lee answered.

...

"Hurry the hell up," Barney called into the comms. "We're running out of road here." The trestle was coming up.

"They're not gonna make it," Doc noted.

"Don't count them out just yet," Barney instructed. He really hoped they were close to getting off.

...

"This is your plan?" Rita asked once they were on top of the train. "Jumping off a moving train onto a moving truck bed?"

"You got a better idea?" Lee challenged.

"I guess not," she answered. She knew she wouldn't die anyway. She had found that out the hard way. Once the Omega had been killed, she had been sure the power was gone forever. Then, she had died from a freak accident two weeks later, and she woke up 24 hours earlier. Knowing she still had the power was a little unsettling at times.

"All right then," she sighed. Toll jumped first, hitting the truck bed hard. He recovered and grabbed Yang before he fell off after his land.

"Come on, man! We're running out of time!" Toll shouted. A bullet whizzed over Rita's head then, and she ducked. She shot at the three men who were firing their guns at them.

"Damn it," Lee growled. They did not have time for this. A man popped up behind Rita, and she swiftly and expertly took him out and sent him flying off the train. Lee turned to see Caesar hitting the brakes and stopping. Barney did as well. Lee caught Rita's arm as she lost her balance suddenly, holding her upright. He felt a little nauseous as he looked down and saw the vast gorge under the trestle glaring up at him.

"What now?" Rita asked over the wind.

"We very carefully get off," he answered.

"How?!"

Lee didn't answer because he didn't really know how. He just knew they had to get off before it reached the other side and before more guards came looking for them. He was running out of ammo and knives. He made his way to the last train car, Rita following. He climbed down the ladder and held onto it while standing on the edge of the car. If he didn't do this right, he was a dead man.

"Don't worry," Rita said. "If we die, we'll come back. The day will reset."

"What?" he asked, confused. "Did they hit your head too many times? Have you lost your mind?"

Rita opened and closed her mouth, realizing. Of course he didn't know. He wouldn't remember because everything had reset when the Omega was killed. How could she have forgotten that?

"I'm just messing with you," she said in the end. "So what is the plan here? We jump?"

"Yea," he answered, giving her a strange look but letting it go. "On three."

She grabbed his hand just as they jumped. Lee hit the trestle hard, and he immediately went flying off. He grabbed the edge with his one hand barely in time, and Rita swung down with his other and hit the trestle with her body, gasping in pain as her wounds got slammed. Lee felt himself losing grip of her and the trestle, her weight being sudden and heavy.

"Can you...?" he started.

"On it," she answered, grabbing the trestle and getting her feet settled into the holes. She let go of his hand, and he used it to grab the edge as well.

"Need a boost?" she asked.

"I got it," he answered, pulling himself up. He was shaking a little. In reality, he should be dead. He rested on the tracks briefly, trying to get his senses back. The amount of times pure, dumb luck had saved him was getting ridiculous almost. Rita climbed up and sat next to him.

"That should have ended a lot worse," she commented. She was hurting so much now. The body slam to her injuries was definitely uncalled for.

"You don't have to tell me," Lee replied. He slowly got to his feet, and Rita joined him. It was a bit of a hike back to the other side. He could see Barney and the others waiting.

"You've hurt something," she pointed out as they started walking. He did have a bit of a limp, but it wasn't anything he hadn't had before.

"It's nothing," he said, looking at her. The bruises on her face and arms...he couldn't stand it. "You on the other hand..."

"I need a doctor, I know," she nodded. "But I think they'll be back for me, and they'll look in a hospital first."

"Most likely." Lee pulled her arm around his shoulder and slid his around her waist to hold her up as they walked. She was breathing hard and limping even worse.

"You guys got a plan?" she asked.

"I bloody well hope so."

"How did you even know about me or where to find me?" she asked.

"Your uncle, Tool."

"Bless him," Rita said. They walked in silence for a while. Rita so badly wanted to tell him about everything, but she knew he wouldn't remember, that it would only confuse him further, so she kept quiet. It was bad enough that she had told him they would come back if they died. Thankfully, he hadn't mentioned it again. She felt bad because of all that she knew and he didn't, but Barney had made her swear not to tell when they had both come back after killing the Omega and remembered everything. But the thing was, if she could still reset the day, then Barney could too, just like he had over and over again in the invasion in France.

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**I'd love to hear what you think :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Heathrow Airport Base-A Month Earlier**

Barney had woken up, gasping. He sat up and clutched at himself, knowing he had died, yet here he was.

"Bad dreams?" Gunner asked, sniggering. Barney turned to see him sitting in the chair, watching him. The others were cleaning their weapons and getting ready to fight in the morning. Barney had fallen asleep at one point without realizing it.

"You could say that," Barney answered. What had happened? What was going on?

He spent the rest of the late afternoon into evening trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Everyone was doing and saying things he had already heard and seen. He went to bed wondering if he had lost his damn mind finally. He hoped that when he woke up, this feeling would stop.

It didn't.

"It's a new day, people!" Master Sergeant Farell was calling. "Destiny calls!"

"Fight time," Gunner said, getting up. Barney stared at his empty bunk, recalling a deja vu moment where he had heard Gunner say that exact same thing before.

...

Everything about that day felt off. Barney felt he had somehow lived it before, but he knew that was impossible. They were on the plane, and his team was chatting and getting revved up for the fight. Barney looked at them all, and he had sudden flashes of seeing them dying.

"Hey," he started just as the plane was ripped into and started getting torn apart. He lurched forward, grabbing his handle above him.

"Drop! Drop! Drop!" Farell was screaming. Barney reached for the release, and he went flying down. It was utter chaos around him. When he landed on the beach, he saw men dying everywhere and rapidly. He watched Caesar fall. Then Gunner. Then Yang. Then Toll. Doc and Lee were still with him.

"Wait!" Barney shouted, holding his arm out to stop them. Something happened here. He somehow remembered it.

"This is an ambush!" Lee yelled into his ear.

"Sally don't-" Doc started, but he was killed before he could finish it. Barney spun around and around. They were dead. They were all dead. Then it went black.

...

After the third time, Barney began to sense something was going on. He had caught the attention of one Sergeant Major Rita Vrataski when he saved her on the battlefield and told her to watch out for a certain Mimic, and she told him to find her when he woke up.

"Lee," he said, going over to his friend.

"What?"

"Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"We have somewhere to be."

Barney didn't know why he was bringing Lee with him, but he knew he needed someone else to hear this, someone else to hear what Rita had to say so as not to feel crazy. Lee reluctantly got up and followed Barney to where Rita was on the floor balancing herself with her arms. Barney could sense a change in Lee as they approached, and he wondered what that was all about. Rita lowered herself down and jumped to her feet upon seeing them.

"Who said you could talk to me?" Rita demanded.

"You did," Barney answered. She gave him a look.

"When?"

"Tomorrow, at the beach," he told her. Lee turned to give his friend a look of complete disbelief.

"You've finally cracked," he commented. Barney ignored him.

"Come with me," Rita said, gesturing. Incredulous, Lee followed both of them to a quieter area.

"You do know what's happening to me," Barney said, seeing her face.

"Yea. I do," Rita nodded. "How many times?"

"This is the fourth."

"Will someone please explain this to me?" Lee asked. Rita shot him an annoyed look before continuing.

"You've been affected by Alpha's blood," she explained.

"What?" Barney asked.

"Try to remember when you died the first time. Was the Mimic bigger and blue?"

Barney thought hard. He vaguely remembered seeing what she was describing as he pulled the pin of his bomb on his vest.

"Yea."

"Then you've stolen the ability to reset the day," Rita said, growing excited. "I had it, but I lost it."

"Wait, wait, wait," Lee said, holding up his hands. "This is a real thing?"

"Yes," Rita nodded. "The Omega uses the reset ability to win battles. It's how they're always one step ahead of us. If an Alpha dies, the day resets, and they learn from their mistakes."

Barney didn't know how to feel about this.

"So Barney can't die?" Lee asked, finally getting it.

"No," Rita answered, shaking her head.

"So I can finally stab you, and you won't die," Lee went on, a hint of glee in his voice.

"So how do I control it?" Barney questioned, ignoring his friend, who was smirking at him now.

"Well...you have to die. Every day," Rita answered.

"Seriously?" Barney groaned.

"Can I stab him?" Lee asked. "Please? I owe him one. More than one, really."

"It puts you back 24 hours," she told Barney, talking over Lee. "Come on. We can talk to Dr. Carter. He can explain more about this as he's the expert."

Barney walked numbly behind her. He was reliving the same day over and over, like Groundhog's Day. He knew Lee was thinking it too as he was still smirking to himself as they walked. He groaned inwardly at the thought of explaining this to Lee and his team every single day. That was going to get annoying very quickly.

**Present Day**

Barney watched as Rita and Lee made their way towards him and the others. He felt bad making her keep what happened a secret. He just didn't want to deal with the thousands of questions his team would have had for him, and he didn't want it to get accidentally leaked that he had experienced it. Rita had understood, but that meant another secret on her end that she had to keep, and he knew that would be getting to her.

"Leave no man behind," Rita commented when they reached him. She gave him a knowing look. It was something he had quoted in her presence.

"Damn, girl," Caesar said, looking at her and shaking his head. "They got you bad."

"Don't remind me," Rita replied.

"Come on," Barney said, opening the back door of the truck. "Let's get you home."

Lee and Barney helped her in, and she curled up on the backseat as Lee got in and sat beside her. He didn't know why, but he felt he should sit with her. They drove in silence. Rita fought down her sudden urge to cry from the pain. She did not do crying. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and imagined herself anywhere but there. Of course, the image that came to her was one that only she remembered. She didn't know if that was worse. It made her reach for Lee's hand, and if he was surprised, he didn't let on. He didn't let go either.

...

"I'm sorry," Doc said, giving Rita a sympathetic look. She gritted her teeth.

"It's all right," she replied. He was fixing her up the best he could without the help of a hospital. They would revisit that once they arrived back home and were as far away from her kidnappers as possible. She sat patiently while Doc worked.

"Ivan Zolotov," Barney told her, making her look up at him. He was standing off to the side in front of her.

"Who is he?" Rita asked.

"Someone who has a beef with your uncle."

"Where can I find him?"

"Your guess is as good as ours. He's gone off the radar for now."

"What did my uncle do to him to make him come after me?" Rita wanted to know.

"I haven't gotten the full story yet," Barney admitted.

"So what happens to me now?"

"You can't stay here. They'll come after you again."

"So what do you suggest? That I go live with you?" Rita asked, starting to laugh.

"Might be smart until we figure out how to get Ivan."

"I'm not a coward. I don't hide," Rita said angrily. "I can fix this if you'd just..."

"No," Barney cut her off. She glowered at him. She knew he knew what she was referring to. Doc looked between both of them, puzzled. Everyone else was out of earshot, but they were watching the interaction carefully.

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Because there are too many variables in play here," Barney told her. "And real life doesn't work that way."

"But I can go back. I can get him..."

"He wasn't on that train, Rita," Barney cut her off. He knew that was the truth. "You can't get something that's not there."

Rita jiggled her one leg impatiently. She knew he was right, but she was still annoyed.

"So we do nothing," she commented.

"We go home, regroup, and find him. Then we do something," Barney said.

"It's wasting time..."

"It's how we do it," Barney said sternly. "And your uncle wants to see you anyway."

"All set," Doc said, finishing. He'd wrapped what needed to be wrapped after cleaning all wounds. He stitched up some open cuts. He couldn't do much for the ribs, but he gathered they were more cracked than broken, according to his assessment.

"You gotta heal up first too," Barney added as she stood and winced in pain. "Once we're back home, we can get you to a proper doctor. No offense, Doc."

"None taken," Doc shrugged. He knew his work was only a temporary fix.

"Fine," Rita sighed heavily. "We'll do it your way then."

"Good," Barney nodded. That was settled. When they were alone, Rita gestured him to come closer.

"If I can still reset the day," she started. "Then so can you."

Barney didn't respond right away. He had gathered this to be true after hearing her say she could do it again. They were both in that water when the Omega had died. If she could do it, then he could too. It unnerved him.

"I thought you had to die within 24 hours to keep it?" Barney asked.

"I thought so too, but I was well after 24 hours of the Omega dying, and I came back," she explained. "Maybe the Omega's blood is different from the Alpha's?"

"This shit still makes my head hurt," Barney groaned, pressing his fingers to his temple.

"I think it's best that we don't talk about it with anyone else," Rita suggested.

"I agree."

"I accidentally said to Lee that if we died, the day would reset," Rita winced. "But he hasn't brought it up again."

"He'll chalk it up to you being whacked in the head too many times. He won't bring it up," Barney reasoned. He filed this information away, though, in case Lee did say something to him about it later, which he might do. It did bring some kind of comfort, though, knowing that Rita knew and remembered everything that had happened (not all of it, of course, just that one reset). It meant he wasn't alone.

"We getting out of this joint or what?" Toll called then.

"Yea," Barney answered. He helped Rita to her feet, and they made their way to his plane.


	3. Chapter 3

**Heathrow Airport Base-One Month Earlier **

"Again," Rita said, bored. She had her arms crossed in front of her as Barney was lying on the ground panting. He had just been brutally thrown by the fake Mimic machine, and he was pissed.

"This is wasting time," he insisted, getting up to his feet shakily. Something had been knocked loose, he could tell. He hoped she wouldn't see it. He didn't appreciate how easily she just shot him in the head to reset him.

"Is it? I disagree," Rita replied. She remembered all the hours she had done training herself. It was the only way to get better than their enemy.

"What the hell is this?" Toll asked, laughing as he came in with Yang, Caesar, Gunner, Doc, and Lee.

"Great," Barney muttered to himself. They always came looking for him. They always made fun of him.

"Something you wanna tell us, boss?" Gunner asked.

"Extra curricular activity," Barney answered, wiping at his face to clear the sweat.

"Just for you?" Caesar asked, sounding disappointed.

"Sorry, boys," Barney said, looking at his team. "Just for me this time."

"Mind if we watch you get slaughtered for our own enjoyment?" Gunner asked, a smirk on his lips. Barney gave a half snort, half laugh.

"Why not," he shrugged. He noticed Rita was doing her best to stay looking stern and important, but there was a ghost of a smile on her lips. He also saw her looking at Lee, who was sneaking looks back at her. That was interesting.

"Go," Rita said. Barney braced himself, his massive blade in hand, as the machine came whipping at him.

"Oooohhhhh!" they all shouted when he was slammed into and thrown way across the room.

...

After about thirty resets, Barney was growing frustrated.

"What is the point in this?" he asked Rita as he sat on the floor watching her do whatever it was she was doing. They weren't push ups, but he didn't know what the hell they were either.

"In what?" she asked.

"Hours of training," he answered.

"To make you stronger, better, and more powerful," she answered easily without looking at him. Her mind was stuck on someone else, if she was honest. She kept thinking about a certain someone she'd had a knife throwing contest with, someone she had almost kissed, which was very unlike her.

"I'm not noticing a difference," Barney said, breaking into her thoughts.

"You will," she promised. "You will."

...

It was reset sixty five, and Barney was accosted by Lee as he exited the training room.

"Since when do you hang out with the Angel of Verdun?" Lee asked, falling into step beside him. Barney was stiff and sore and not in the mood for whatever it was Christmas was implying, and he knew the implication was there.

"She was just showing me some tricks," Barney answered. "For tomorrow's fight."

"Tricks?" Lee repeated. Barney stopped short, making Lee step past him before awkwardly catching himself and stopping as well.

"Christmas, I know you got it bad for the lady," Barney said, feeling impatient. It wasn't the first time he'd had this conversation. "Why don't you just go in there and make your move already?"

Lee was taken aback, the shock written on his face. Barney kept walking then. His friend did not follow.

...

He awoke the next morning feeling as though he was underwater. The dream he'd had was fresh in his mind, and it was distracting him. The problem was, it felt more like a memory than a dream. He shook his head and rubbed his face as he got out of bed and ready for war. He noticed Lee came in quietly, carrying his boots in his hand. He stopped upon seeing Barney, and they both stared at each other.

"You took my advice," Barney commented.

"I was out for a walk," Lee retorted, but the tell was on his face. Barney knew where he had spent last night.

"Sure," Barney nodded, letting it go. It was time for all of them to die anyway.

**Present Day**

Barney was thoughtful as he drove his plane. Lee was sitting beside him, although Barney wasn't sure why. The guy's neck was twisted around backwards for the majority of the time. Rita was in the back with the others. Doc had set her up as best as he could to keep her comfortable. Barney was beyond relieved that she was alive. He'd never forgive himself if he had been too late.

"Just go back there already," Barney commented through his cigar.

"What?" Lee asked.

"Go sit with her."

"She's sleeping."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

Barney gave up arguing with Lee. The guy was so stubborn sometimes it wasn't funny. He was feeling anticipation for their arrival home. Tool was waiting for them, and Barney knew it had been a long time since he'd seen Rita.

"Think Tool is gonna share about Ivan?" Lee asked after a while.

"He'll have to," Barney replied. "It's the only way we'll get him."

Lee said nothing else as he turned to look yet again back at Rita lying there. He felt so drawn to her, but he didn't know why. They'd almost had a moment back at Heathrow, but that was all. Yet here he was, feeling as though there had been more than that.

...

Rita was very thankful for whatever Doc had given her to help her sleep. She had tormented dreams, though, but at least she wasn't waking up shouting every few minutes. Her team had told her once that she did. Her team. She felt the lump in the back of her throat. They had been killed like they were nothing by Ivan's men before they took her.

"All right," Doc said, standing over her. She had felt the plane land. She assumed that meant they were in New Orleans. "Let's get you up."

Doc and Toll slid their arms around her and pulled her up to her feet. She felt woozy still.

"So burly," she said, feeling their strength.

Toll started to laugh, as did Doc. Pain meds made you say the funniest things.

Barney was the last to leave. He made sure his doctor contact was going to be at the hospital. He had one to save all the questions being asked about their injuries. It came in handy a lot.

"Where are you going?" Lee asked as Barney went over to his bike while he and Doc were getting into the truck with Rita.

"I gotta talk to Tool," Barney answered. It wasn't a lie. He did have to talk to Tool. Lee gave him a look before getting into the truck and shutting the door behind him. Barney watched them drive away.

...

Tool looked up in the mirror as Barney entered the shop. Tool could see how worn out and beat down his friend looked almost instantly.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Beat up," Barney answered.

"Ivan?"

"On the loose."

"Damn," Tool sighed. He had been hoping for better news.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a niece?" Barney asked. "Let alone that niece was Rita."

"It never came up," Tool answered. He was looking at Barney, though, in a way that suggested he knew more than he was letting on. Barney wanted to delve into that, but he would save it for another day.

"You wanna tell me why Ivan is trying to kill your niece?" Barney asked, coming to sit next to Tool.

"Ah," Tool said, inhaling and exhaling his smoke from is pipe slowly. "That's a long story."

"I have the time," Barney answered. He waited.

"The short form of it is that I took something from Ivan," Tool started.

"And now he wants it back?"

"Something like that."

"What is it?"

Tool reached into his drawer and pulled out a memory stick, holding it up for Barney to see.

"You got the Death Star plans on there?" Barney asked, looking at it.

"It was a heist he was planning," Tool replied, ignoring the joke. "In Germany. He was going to collect on guns, money, drugs...you name it."

"Why did you take it?"

"Because I was told to."

"Something tells me there's more on that stick than you're telling me," Barney pointed out. Tool twisted his face into a smile.

"You're very perceptive, you know that?"

"Uh huh. Tell me."

"It has all of his enemy's information on it," Tool went on. "All of his competition. Without it, he's blind."

"So why take Rita? Why not just come here and ask nicely for it back?" Barney asked sarcastically.

"Because he knows a bartering chip like Rita would get him somewhere," Tool answered. He stood then. "I want to go see her now."

"What are we doing about Ivan?"

"Oh. I'm looking for him as we speak. I should get an answer soon."

Barney just nodded in response. They could use the time to rest up and get ready anyway. He was still having nightmares about those damn Mimics.

* * *

**If you have time to leave a review, I'd really appreciate it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Heathrow Airport Base-One Month Earlier **

"I saw it," Barney said, finding Rita easily and quickly. "I saw the Omega." The vision had been intense, but he'd seen it.

"Where?" Rita asked, excited.

"It's in a dam."

They went to see Dr. Carter, who was just as excited. Together, they figured out exactly where the Omega was. Then they made a plan, and Barney was ready to fight their way off that beach.

...

"I'm trying," Rita said, exasperated. After failing over twenty times to leave the beach, Barney was doing his best to show her on a map where she needed to step, duck, roll, and shoot without getting killed. They didn't do much chatting outside of the mission, but sometimes she gave Barney tidbits about her life. He knew she had a stepfather and a mother. Her brother was currently unwell. Some guy named Hendricks had died in all of her resets, but she refused to say who he was or what he meant to her.

"No, no," Barney said, coming back to the moment and the map. "Jump then duck."

"Okay, okay," Rita growled.

Eventually, he had to get Lee involved because he knew they needed that extra person, and Lee was the better one to go along with things without asking too many questions. He also had a better memory for what he was to do with short notice.

"I feel like I'm trying to figure out a very complicated video game," Lee commented on one of the resets as he, Rita, and Barney went over the map. Barney looked up at him.

"He has a point," Rita agreed, giving them both an amused look.

"Just do what I tell you, and you won't die," Barney instructed.

But they did die. Constantly. It ate at him and ripped him apart inside every single time he had to look at their lifeless bodies. It meant he had failed them, and that made it harder and harder each day to look at himself in the mirror.

...

"What now?" Lee asked. They had finally made it out of the battlefield. Barney surveyed the land and saw some cars. He didn't know what to expect. He'd never gotten this far yet.

"Try each car," Barney instructed. "See what happens."

"You know, it's a little unnerving that you get to remember all of this, and we don't," Lee said dryly. Barney looked at him.

"It's a curse," he said. He stood and moved forward down the hill towards a black car. Rita looked at Lee, who twisted his lips but didn't say anything else.

...

"Two cars left," Barney said a few resets later. "That Jeep, and that car with the trailer attached."

He hoped this would work. He hated that they couldn't even get away in a car. He put on his lucky ring.

"Oh, now you put it on," Lee said, noticing.

"Put on what?" Rita asked.

"His lucky ring."

"Well, I'm wearing my lucky underwear, so I guess it's our lucky day, isn't it?" Rita commented, looking at them both. Barney couldn't help it. He snorted. Then Lee started to laugh.

"Laugh it up," Rita said, crossing her arms. "But if you think a ring is lucky, then why can't anything else be lucky?"

"I ate me Lucky Charms this morning. I've got me lucky gun," Lee said, faking an Irish accent and nudging Barney. "And I'm wearing me lucky socks too. We're good to go when you are."

"Shut up," Barney retorted. "Just for that, you get to go by yourself to the Jeep."

"Oh, thanks," Lee said sarcastically. He trotted off, and Barney shook his head as he watched before gesturing to Rita to move forward to the other car.

"You guys are close," she commented.

"Yea," he nodded. Rita got into the driver's side and fought to start the car. Barney kept an eye out. So far, so good.

"Shit!" Lee shouted. Barney spun to see Lee shooting a Mimic.

"Come on, come on," Rita muttered. The engine finally sputtered to life, and Barney got in just as she floored it. Lee was running towards them, and she swung so that he could launch himself onto the trailer. Barney shot the Mimic that jumped after him, saving Lee's life just barely.

"Go, go, go," Barney ordered. Rita swung them towards the road as Lee made his way to the car. He landed awkwardly on the roof and shot off the trailer to stop them from lugging dead weight. He climbed through the window into the backseat and fell onto his back, exhausted.

"Did you almost shit out your Lucky Charms?" Barney asked, turning to look at him while Rita snickered. Lee gave him the finger in return, and Barney laughed.

**Present Day **

Barney opened his eyes. It took him about ten seconds to realize he was back home in his bed in New Orleans and not over in France getting ready to go into battle for the thousandth time. The relief was immense. If he was feeling this way, then he knew Rita had to be feeling it too. Rita.

He recalled the smile on her face when Tool had walked in to see her the night before. It was a genuine smile, one that Barney had rarely seen in the time he'd known her. She kept it to herself a lot.

He kept expecting to hear Farell shouting, "It's a new day, people! Duty calls!"

Maybe he finally got PTSD after all these years.

...

Lee wasn't sure what kept pulling him to go and be with Rita. He'd gone home to shower and sleep, and as soon as he woke up, he was itching to be at her side. It was strange for him to feel this way about a woman he barely knew.

"You're here early," Rita commented as he came through the door to her hospital room. She was looking a little better but still beaten up.

"You don't mind?" he asked, sitting down in the chair beside her bed. She shook her head.

"Not at all."

She smiled at him, and Lee felt warm inside as he smiled back. Then he grew serious. He kept thinking about what she had said to him on the train trestle.

"What did you mean when you said we would come back if you died?" he asked.

"Oh, that," she dismissed. "Nothing."

He gave her an even stare. He knew she was lying. She stared back, knowing he wasn't going to just drop it like Barney had figured.

"Right. And I'm an undercover alien," he snorted. "Don't lie."

"Hello, love," Tool said, coming in then.

"Saved by the old guy," Lee said quietly for Rita to hear.

"Hi, Uncle," she grinned. "Back so soon?"

"You ready to bust out of this place?" Tool asked her.

"Of course."

"Then let's go," he gestured.

"I haven't been cleared by the doctor yet," she told him. Almost as if he was conjured, the doctor came into the room next.

"How are we?" he asked.

"Better."

"You seem rested. Pain?"

"About a six."

"Ah. Down from nine," the doctor nodded. "That's a good sign."

"I agree."

Lee and Tool observed as the doctor checked her over and scribbled on her chart.

"I think it's safe to say you can go home now," the doctor said afterwards. Tool gave her the "I told you so" look.

"Wonderful," Rita sighed happily. A nurse came in to unhook her and get her ready to go. Lee and Tool stepped out to give her some privacy.

"I'm going to find the man who did this to her," Tool said to Lee.

"I know."

"You'll look after her, won't you?"

"What do you mean?" Lee asked.

"I mean, you'll take care of her. You won't let her get hurt...by anything," Tool said, giving him a look. Lee knew what that look implied. He flushed a little. They weren't even together, so how could he mean that?

"I'll look after her."

"Good," Tool nodded, satisfied. After about fifteen minutes, Rita was ready to go. Lee wished he had thought to bring her something else to wear other than her dirty, bloody clothes she'd come in there with.

"I don't suppose you have a shower at your place?" Rita asked Tool, who grinned.

"I've got the best shower in the world, darlin'."

...

Rita took in Tool's place as she came in. Caesar was playing cards with Toll. Gunner was whittling something. Doc was sharpening his knives. Yang had left to rejoin someone named Trench, she had been told. There was also five other Expendable members, but they did not hang out at Tool's place. They also had other jobs they did to pass the time until a mission came up.

"Looking better," Caesar said, noticing her.

"Thanks," Rita replied with a small smile. It was nice to walk without someone having to hold her up.

"Shower's upstairs," Tool told her, gesturing. "I also picked you up some clothes."

"Excellent," she sighed, heading there. She felt Lee's eyes on her as she rounded the corner. She knew he was not finished asking her about resetting the day. She was hoping to put it off for as long as she could, though.

"Oh, yea," she groaned once she was showering. It felt so good to get all the dirt, grime, and blood off of her. It had been too long. Once she was finished, she came out and put on her new grey cargo pants and olive green tank top. She shrugged on the black, thin coat, zipping it up a little. She felt refreshed.

She came downstairs to find Barney had joined them. He nodded at her.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Much."

"Good."

"Have you found Ivan?" she questioned, looking back and forth between Barney and Tool.

"Not yet," Barney answered. "But we will."

"Take a load off," Toll suggested, jumping into the conversation. "You could use it."

Rita knew he was right, but she also didn't want to just sit around like an idiot.

"You hungry?" Barney asked her. In response, her stomach growled. She hadn't realized how hungry she actually was. Hospital food was not very good, so she had eaten minimally.

"I could eat," she agreed.

"Lee was just going out, weren't you?" Barney said, looking at Lee, who was standing by Doc and examining the knives together. Lee looked up at Barney when he heard his name.

"I was?"

"You are now," Barney said.

"I can go by myself..." Rita started.

"No, I'll go," Lee interrupted. He headed for the door, and Rita followed.

"What are you doing?" Tool asked when they were gone.

"Whatever are you talking about?" Barney countered. Tool made a "come on" face, which Barney just grinned at in return.

"Something you wanna tell me?" Tool prompted.

"Not at all," Barney answered. "Is there something you wanna tell me?"

Tool held his gaze carefully. Of course there was something he should tell Barney, but he couldn't. He wondered if his friend knew that from the way Barney was looking at him. Eventually, Barney walked over to Gunner and Toll, leaving Tool to stare at his receding back and wonder what Barney already knew.


	5. Chapter 5

**Heathrow Airport Base-One Month Earlier**

"What are you doing?" Barney asked, making Lee jump a mile high. He had a sheepish look on his face, knowing he'd been caught.

"None of your business," he retorted back. Barney gave a small, bark-like laugh.

"Oh really? Then why so guilty looking?"

"I'm not guilty," Lee objected, moving past Barney and trying to go inside. Barney was smoking his cigar and preparing for the next day. They had made it to the farmhouse a bunch of times, but he was having difficulty getting past that point.

"Your face says otherwise."

"Why does it matter to you what I'm doing?" Lee challenged, spinning to face Barney. He gave Lee a thoughtful look as he sucked on his cigar.

"I just want you to be careful."

"Why?"

"Does there have to be a why?"

"Yes," Lee said, disgruntled. "This is clearly bothering you."

"What is?"

"Don't put this back on me," Lee growled. "You're giving me a headache." He turned to go inside when Barney stopped him with his next words.

"She's fragile," he said. He knew he had Lee's attention.

"What do you mean?" Lee asked, turning back to look at him.

"She ever tell you about Hendricks?"

"No."

"Hm," Barney said, thinking. "Well, I think she's been hurt too, so just watch what you're doing."

"I'm not doing it on a whim," Lee commented. "I...I really care about her."

"You've only known her two days," Barney pointed out. They'd only been on the base for three. He knew Lee had met Rita on their second day, yesterday.

"Does it need to be longer to know you care about someone?" Lee challenged. Barney knew he had a point.

"I guess not," he answered.

"Good night then," Lee said, disappearing inside finally. Barney pondered on these words before finishing his cigar and going inside himself.

...

After so many tries, Barney was at a loss. They couldn't leave that farmhouse in any way he had tried. He had even left Lee behind once just to see if anything changed, but it didn't. Rita always died.

"What's the matter?" Rita asked him as they were sitting there drinking coffee. He had patched up her shoulder for her, which was something Lee usually did, and they were having a cup of coffee before going out to die.

"Did you feel this way?" he questioned.

"What are you talking about?"

"When you were resetting all the time. Did you feel broken, defeated, hopeless, lost...?"

She inhaled and exhaled slowly, thinking.

"Yes," she nodded. "I did."

"I feel ready to give up," Barney admitted.

"We can't," Rita said sharply. "We have to keep going. We have to kill the Omega!"

"I know," Barney said. "I'm just tired is all." Tired of seeing everyone die. Tired of seeing her die.

"Come on," Rita said, putting down her cup and picking up her gun. "Let's go."

"Not yet," Barney shook his head. She tilted her head at him, confused.

"Why? What's going to happen?"

Barney knew telling her wouldn't change anything. She was determined to move forward, whether or not she died in the process.

"Nothing," he answered, getting up finally. Within moments, she was dead, and so was he.

...

"You don't talk much about your family," Barney noted a few resets later as they were sitting alone in the farmhouse. He'd left Lee behind again that time because he wanted to talk to Rita one on one.

"Why would I talk about my family?" she replied, skeptical.

"I guess I just thought it would be conversation."

"You don't need to know anything about me outside of what we're doing," Rita reasoned. She went back to her coffee, and Barney decided to go out on a limb based on a hunch he had and on something he'd remembered her saying offhand once.

"You don't like your stepfather much," he commented. Rita shot him a sharp look.

"What would make you say that?" she asked.

"You told me once that you thought he was a useless sack of bones," Barney shrugged. "I kind of figured you didn't like him."

"When did I say that?" she demanded.

"Oh...maybe fifty resets ago?" he shrugged. She pressed her lips together tightly. What would have possessed her to tell him anything about her life?

"No," she finally said. "I don't like him."

"Why not?"

"He just...he thought he could do whatever he wanted with no consequences," she said dismissively. "My mother was desperate to not be alone that she stayed with him no matter what he did." She looked down then, and Barney had a horrible feeling about what she was referring to.

"He hurt you," Barney noted after a moment.

"In more ways than one," she said softly, not looking at him. Barney wanted to kill that man in that moment. She met his gaze after a minute, and he noticed the small piece of vulnerability behind the hardness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It is what it is," she replied, getting up. The hardness was back. "Let's get back to war."

Barney followed her slowly. He felt terrible for what she'd experienced. He wished he had been able to protect her from it. He wished a lot of things.

**Present Day**

"So," Rita said, looking at Lee. "How did you get tangled up with Barney and his team anyway?"

They were sitting in a local chain restaurant that overlooked the water. Lee couldn't help but feel it was a date, but he knew it wasn't.

"Just answered a job ad," Lee answered.

"Wow. That was so moving," Rita commented. He cracked a smile at this.

"It's what happened," he told her, shrugging.

"I think my uncle was trying to set me up with you," she said casually after a moment, making Lee choke on his water he had just sipped.

"Excuse me?" he asked once he'd stopped coughing and spluttering. She smiled.

"He mentioned this knife throwing Brit who was packed with an attitude that matched mine," she explained. "I'm assuming he was talking about you since you're the only Brit on the team. I knew it was you back in Heathrow when I first saw you."

"Are you sure? Because he made it seem like he would murder me if I dated you," Lee said, wiping at his face with his napkin.

"Oh, he's just making sure you know it won't be easy," she replied. They looked at each other for a moment.

"Are you saying you want to date me?" Lee asked finally.

"If you ask," she countered. He gave a laugh at this. Of course she wouldn't make it easy on him either.

Rita again felt bad knowing that they had slept together and he didn't remember. She had gotten it out of Barney that it was something she and Lee usually ended up doing the majority of the time the night before their invasion.

"All right," he said. leaning a little closer to her. "Smarty pants. Did you want to go out on a date with me?"

She grinned even wider before leaning in closer to him herself. Their faces were a foot apart.

"Aren't we on a date already?" she asked, gesturing.

"How did I know you were going to say that?"

Rita wanted to kiss him, but she sat back instead and sipped on her beer, smirking at him. He was grinning back. The atmosphere changed a little now that it was deemed a date and not just two people eating dinner.

"Well then," she said, looking at him still. "What next?"

"Let's go for a drive," he answered.

...

Toll heard the coughing all the way downstairs. Caesar was frying up something to eat while Gunner was trying to assist. Doc had gone out, and Tool was in the shop doing whatever it was he was doing. Barney was upstairs.

The coughing continued, and Toll felt concerned, so he got up and went up the stairs. He found Barney leaned over the bathroom sink, hands on the counter to hold himself up.

"You all right, man?" Toll asked, startling him.

"Huh? Yea," Barney answered. He turned on the tap quickly to rinse down the blood in the sink. Toll was still looking at him, and Barney hoped he didn't have blood on his lips. He wiped his face casually.

"You sure?" Toll pressed.

"Yea. Spit went down the wrong tube," Barney lied. He knew Toll didn't buy it, but Toll didn't push.

"All right," he said, nodding slowly. "Well, if you ever need me, just let me know."

"Will do," Barney agreed. When Toll left, Barney sank to the floor and hugged his knees. He closed his eyes and did his grounding exercises. The anxiety caught him off guard sometimes, but he was usually able to manage it. He had told no one about what happened behind closed doors at his doctor's office. He hadn't been feeling well, so he went in for some tests. The results he had gotten back were not favorable.

**Six Months Earlier **

"What is it, doc?" Barney asked, seeing his doctor's face once the door was shut. Dr. Simpson gave a bit of a sigh before sitting down in his chair and leaning his elbows on his knees, looking at Barney.

"It's not good," he said.

"I can tell," Barney reasoned. "Just tell me. What is it?"

"Mr. Ross, you have stage four lung cancer," he answered. Barney let this sit for a moment. Cancer. He had cancer.

"Right," Barney said after processing it for a bit. "So, what now?"

"Well, there are treatments..."

"No," Barney cut him off. "I'm too old for that shit."

"You're only 73..."

"How much time do I have left?" Barney interrupted again.

"If you do nothing, less than a year," the doctor answered. "If you get treatment, you can get a few years."

"And how good is the quality of those years?" Barney asked. "I know what cancer treatment does to a person. I don't want to be living like a shell of a man the last few years of my life."

Dr. Simpson didn't seem to have an argument for this. He sighed again heavily.

"Is it your wish to decline treatment?" he asked.

"Yes," Barney answered. He was already thinking about how he would go out before the cancer got him. It wouldn't be hard.

"Okay. Well, then we can talk about your care when the time comes."

"All right. Thanks, doc," Barney said, standing up. He wasn't sure why he was thanking the doctor for giving him a death sentence. He walked out of the doctor's office feeling numb and empty. After everything he did in his life and what he still did, it was going to be cancer that took him out. How ironic was that?

Three months after he got the diagnosis, the UDF called and asked him and his team to come help fight the Mimics. Barney figured he would die over there, and that was the way he wanted to go. How foolish of him to think his wish would be granted.

**Present Day**

Lee dropped Rita back at Tool's place. He caught sight of the man peering out his window, so he refrained from giving her a goodnight kiss. They were holding hands, though, so he did give it a good squeeze.

"It was nice to not have to think about a war or dying for once," she commented, turning his hand over in hers and examining it.

"It was," he agreed. "Why do I get the feeling you're referring to something that I'm not aware of, though?"

"I'll explain it to you one day," she promised. Lee felt a bit unsettled then. So he had been right. What did she know?

"Does it have something to do with you resetting the day?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered truthfully.

"And you'll tell me everything?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Lee nodded. He wanted her to tell him now, but he knew it wasn't a good time. He felt anxious, though, at the thought of what she could possibly tell him. Something in his brain was telling him that this wasn't the first time he was hearing about resetting the day, though, and this confused him. He couldn't remember having talked about it before, so how could he know anything about it?

Rita waited until her uncle was not staring at them through the window before moving closer to Lee. She wanted to feel his lips on hers again.

"You sure?" he asked quietly. She nodded, and he put his arms around her to bring her into him before kissing her gently.

To Rita, it felt so familiar, but she knew it was technically his first kiss with her. She was sad when they had to stop.

"I'll see you soon," he said, touching her cheek softly.

"Okay," she smiled. She stood on the doorstep watching Lee walk to his bike. She was glad he had borrowed the truck to take her out. She wasn't a huge fan of bikes. He gave her a wave before taking off, and she went inside, wondering what was going to happen next.


	6. Chapter 6

**Heathrow Airport Base-One Month Earlier **

Barney coughed and coughed. He felt exhausted and fed up. He thought he was going to one up his cancer and die over here before it got him, and it turned out he was given the gift of living the same day over and over again just to prove that nothing goes the way you want it to.

"You all right?" Lee asked, poking his head around the corner.

"Yea," Barney answered. In reality, he was not all right. Having been told he was for sure dying in less than a year made him think of things he hadn't thought of in a long time, things that he had buried so deep he had almost forgotten they were there.

"You sure?" Rita asked, joining them. Barney was glad the grass hid the blood from his coughing.

"Yes," he nodded. He looked at her, and he knew full well who she was. He had gotten more information from her since the day she'd alluded to her abuse from her stepfather. She'd even shown him a photo of her and her mother, which had shocked him. He knew he had to talk to her, but he had no idea where to start.

"So what do we do now?" Lee asked, moving on from Barney's coughing fit. They were at the farmhouse again, and Barney had no idea what to do. They got stuck here every single time. He had come to the conclusion that he was going to have to do this alone, but that thought scared him. There was so much help Rita and Lee gave him to get him to this place, but he couldn't bear the idea that he'd kill the Omega and have them never return. He just couldn't do it.

"I'm thinking," Barney said. He never told Rita how many times they had done something. It only frustrated her, and he could only deal with his frustration, not hers as well.

"Ah," Rita winced as she reached up for something.

"What's wrong?" Lee asked. He went to examine her.

"Nothing," she answered.

"You've been hit," he pointed out, pulling down her coat to see better.

"It's fine," she insisted. Lee gave her a look.

"We are fixing that up before we go any further."

Rita rolled her eyes, but she let Lee take her inside to fix her up. Barney let him. He was tired of doing it. He looked around, wondering what to do. After a while of getting nowhere, he went in to join them. He stopped short when he saw them kissing. Of course Lee fixing her wound would lead to that. This was the first time he'd caught them, though.

"Ahem," he coughed. They sprang apart, looking sheepish.

"You figure out our plan?" Lee asked, rubbing his neck and not looking at Rita.

"Coffee," Barney answered, going over to find it. He made some and brought it over to them. Rita was looking at him, her eyes narrowed. He knew that he had given away they'd been there before by knowing about the coffee before finding it.

"How many times have we been here?" she asked. "How many times?"

Barney didn't know how to answer. It had been so many times.

"Where are the keys to the helicopter?" she demanded. "You have them, don't you?"

"I do," he answered. She stood up, angry.

"Give them to me."

"No."

"Barney!"

"I can't let you do it," he said. "You can't get in that helicopter. You die! Every time!"

"Why does it matter what happens to me?" Rita asked angrily. She was fuming. How could he have kept this from her?! Lee was watching from the shadows. He didn't want to interfere, but he was just as annoyed with Barney.

"It just does," Barney insisted. "Look, we haven't tried you just walking away. Both of you."

"Why do you care about me?! It's war, Barney! What does it matter if I'm alive or not?!" she yelled at him.

"Because!"

"Because why?!"

"YOU'RE MY DAUGHTER!" Barney bellowed, his voice echoing. Rita stared at him in disbelief. Lee was just as shocked. Barney felt terrible. This was not how he'd wanted to tell her, not like this. It had just slipped out.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No!"

"I met your mother, and we fell in love, but it was never going to work. We had completely different lives, and although we wanted it to work so badly, it just didn't," Barney started.

"No," Rita said again more forcefully.

"We ended things and parted ways. She never told me she had you. She had no way of communicating with me. She probably thought I was dead anyway because of the mess I had currently been in. I never knew about you until you showed me that picture of you and your mother. It was her. You're my daughter, Rita. You said it yourself that your real father abandoned both of you, that you had a stepfather."

Lee listened in silence. He was stunned.

"You're lying," Rita insisted. Her hands were shaking. She wanted to throw up.

"I'm not," Barney said firmly. "And that is why I'm so hellbent on keeping you alive. I will not fail you again, not after knowing everything that bastard did to you."

Rita said nothing for a moment. Lee looked back and forth between them until Rita made up her mind. She stepped forward to yank the keys from Barney's hand and marched out to the helicopter.

"Rita," Barney called, chasing after her. Lee was right behind him.

Rita yanked off the tarp and climbed into the helicopter. She was beyond furious. Barney was her father. He'd abandoned her and her mother. All those sleepless nights wondering if her mother being pregnant with her was what made her real father leave, that somehow it was her fault. All those times her stepfather had hurt her and then mocked her for not having her real father around to keep her safe. The rage built higher inside of her.

"Stop, Rita," Barney ordered.

"This is war," she snapped at him. "You lose people in war. I'm not a coward, and I'm not backing down just because I die."

"Rita," Lee tried.

"Not you too," she said, jabbing her finger at him. He pressed his lips together, refraining from saying anything further. She gave them both a defiant look as she started the helicopter and prepared to take off.

"Run," Barney told Lee, who barely started to move when the Mimic came from nowhere and attacked the helicopter. Barney jumped and dodged the flailing alien arms as well as the helicopter when it came crashing down. Lee was firing his gun at the Mimic. Barney grabbed the axe from the woodpile. He shouted in rage as he slammed it into the Mimic over and over again.

"I think you got it," Lee said, coming out then. Barney dropped the axe, and they both went over to Rita, who was lying there dying in front of them.

"Rita," Barney said, taking her hand in both of his. She looked up at him, and he saw all the years of hurt, anger, and unanswered questions in her eyes and expression. "I'm so sorry."

She turned her head to look at Lee, who was struggling to keep it together.

"Don't forget about me," she told him in a strained, quiet voice.

Then she was gone.

...

Barney knew what his plan was the next time he reset. He was not involving Rita at all. In order to keep her safe, he was going to go in alone. He stood outside the building, watching her walk out without knowing he was there. He thought about how he'd told her he was her father. He was relieved that she had no idea again, that he could have a different chance to tell her that wasn't so blunt. He'd met her mother by chance, and he'd fallen for her hard. They hadn't been together long, maybe six months, when he knew he couldn't stay with her. His job was too dangerous. Her life would be at risk too much, and he couldn't have that. She was also busy traveling around for her work, and they had made the difficult decision to part ways.

"What are you doing?" Lee asked, cutting into his thoughts. Barney looked at him, blinking away the memories.

"Nothing."

"The boys are wanting to do something to take our minds off of tomorrow."

"All right."

Barney followed Lee to where Gunner, Yang, Toll, Doc, and Caesar were talking and laughing with each other. He stood in the doorway, looking at his crew and knowing that they'd all die tomorrow. It broke his heart.

...

He had successfully gotten the helicopter out of the yard, and he was flying towards his destination. So this was how it was done. He should have figured it out sooner. He landed a bit from the dam and walked towards it, swinging his gun side to side in front of him. He went inside and carefully walked to where the Omega was supposed to be.

It was empty.

"What?" he said out loud, his voice echoing off the walls. He jumped when he heard the sound that was too familiar. A Mimic was standing there growling at him.

"Oh, perfect," he muttered. He did his best to get away from it, but then an Alpha showed up, and he had a bad feeling about what was going to happen next. They were clearly cornering him, and he didn't like it. When he reached for his gun, the Alpha slapped it out of his hands violently. Barney realized they were not going to let him kill himself. They knew he had the power.

"Shit," he said. He leaped and slid underneath the pipes. The Alpha slammed into them, causing water to pour out. Barney knew he had to die. He couldn't lose the power. He reached the back and shoved his face deep into the water, inhaling deeply.

**Present Day **

Barney sat across from Tool the next day, and he knew they were going to have that conversation whether Tool wanted to or not.

"You don't look good, Barn," Tool commented, peering at him.

"Rough night," Barney answered. It wasn't a total lie. He'd dreamt about drowning again. His dreams were always about his resets. It was really starting to get to him.

"You sure that's all?" Tool prompted. Barney debated on telling him about the cancer, but he didn't want people to fuss over him. He didn't want the sympathetic looks and everyone offering their two cents on what he could do to save himself. He didn't want any of it.

"Are you gonna tell me why you never mentioned Rita was your niece? Or that you knew I was her father?" Barney dove right in. Tool's expression proved that Barney had been right all along. He'd known.

"She asked me not to," Tool replied carefully.

"Who?"

"Maria," he answered. Barney closed his eyes. So she had told him herself.

"Why?"

"She didn't want Rita in harm's way," Tool answered. "You guys broke up because of her safety and everything, so she didn't want Rita in that same position."

"And you didn't see anything wrong with that?" Barney demanded.

"Oh, I did, but she refused to listen to me. She ordered me to not tell you, so I kept my word. I'm sorry," Tool apologized.

"And what about the stepfather hurting Rita? Huh? What about that?"

"I...I did not know about that," Tool said, surprised. "Tony hurt her?"

"Yes! She told me so," Barney said angrily. "Did Maria not tell you?"

"I think maybe she doesn't know," Tool reasoned. "She would have told me if she did."

"It doesn't seem that way from Rita's perspective."

"Well, then we're gonna have to have a talk," Tool said.

"I can't believe you knew all this time and never told me."

"I almost did so many times, brother," Tool sighed. "But I couldn't break my word to my sister."

Barney sat there feeling defeated and angry. How could Maria have done that to him? How could she not have told him about Rita?

"If I could go back..." Tool started. Barney held up his hand to stop him.

"Don't," he said. "It is what it is. I'm just disappointed and angry is all. You should have told me. I had the right to know I had a daughter."

"I'm sorry," Tool said again. Barney stood up to leave then. He couldn't take it anymore. He left Tool sitting there looking sad and a little ashamed of himself.

...

Rita woke up that morning with the first thought on her mind being about Lee. She couldn't wait to see him again. She came down the stairs and found Tool sitting alone at the table with a mug in front of him.

"Good morning," she said, going to pour herself a cup and join him.

"Indeed," Tool replied.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Did your mother ever tell you who your biological father was?" Tool asked her straight up. Rita was shocked. Where was this coming from?

"Um, no," she answered, shaking her head.

"Did she talk about him at all?"

"She just said he left is all," Rita answered. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

"Did Tony hurt you?" Tool asked.

Rita was silent. How could he know? She had never told a soul.

"He did," Tool confirmed. Her expression said it all.

"Where is this coming from?" she asked again.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Rita pressed her lips together. Her stepfather's warnings about how he'd hurt her little brother were still in her head.

"Okay," Tool said, standing now. "That's it."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to go find him and deal with him myself."

"No," Rita said firmly, grabbing his arm. "It was a long time ago, and no one needs to know."

"You can't do that to yourself, Rita luv," Tool said softly. "You deserve to have this made right."

Rita felt the tears in her eyes then. She knew he had a point, but she didn't want her mother to know. Her mother knew about Tony's drinking and gambling and other sins and never had consequences for him about it because she didn't want to be a single mother. She didn't know what Tony did when he was alone with Rita because Rita still had the idea at times that it was her fault. It was something she was trying to work on. She also didn't want her brother to know, especially when he was sick right now. He was getting better, but still.

"Not now," she said. "Please."

Tool didn't want to obey her wishes, but he also didn't want her to hate him for telling on her.

"All right, but do it soon," he said. "For you."

"Okay," she agreed. He bent to kiss the top of her head before leaving her there alone. It wasn't too long after that her tears began sliding down her face.


	7. Chapter 7

**Heathrow Airport Base-One Month Earlier**

"It was a trap?" Rita repeated after Barney described what had happened at the dam.

"Yea. They were waiting for me. They weren't going to let me kill myself," Barney finished.

"So what do we do now?" Dr. Carter asked. They were in his meeting space again, trying to figure out a plan.

"Is there another way of finding this thing?" Barney asked. Rita gave Dr. Carter a look.

"It's locked up," he said. "They said I was nuts and took it from me."

"Where is it?" Barney asked.

"General Brigham's office," Dr. Carter answered.

"Fabulous," Barney sighed. That sounded all kinds of hard to get into.

...

His speech never seemed to work. They always got ambushed, and Rita always shot him before they were arrested. Barney had no idea how to get this General Brigham to listen to him. He couldn't stop trying, though.

"Maybe you're not convincing enough," Rita suggested. Barney gave her a look. Lee smirked to himself. It was one of the rare times he had included Lee in what was going on. It was easier to maneuver just two of them to the general's office. Barney was desperate.

"I find that hard to believe," Lee commented. "Because Barney convinces me into doing a lot of things, and he convinces me that this shit is real every time, so I don't think that's the problem."

"No, you're right," Rita nodded. "It's Brigham. He's just stubborn. Keep trying."

"That's what I do best," Barney sighed.

...

Then one time, Brigham did listen. It was miraculous. Barney walked out holding the gadget Dr. Carter had created to help find the Omega, and Rita looked at him once they were out of the office.

"What now?" she asked.

"I've never gotten this far," he answered. "So I have no idea."

"Let's just quickly and carefully get out of here," she suggested. They didn't make it very far before shouts came behind them, and they were being chased. Rita found them a car, and they started driving as fast as they could.

"What the hell do I do with this thing?" Barney asked, looking at the prongs from the gadget.

"Jam it in your leg," Rita answered.

"Come again?" Barney asked. She grabbed it from him and jammed it into his leg, making him shout out in pain. Then, he started having a vision. He could clearly see the Omega in the Louvre Pyramid. He yanked out the device, and Rita looked at him.

"I know where it is," he said.

Then they were struck broadside, and they flipped and rolled. Barney felt himself grow unconscious. Then it was black.

...

Barney awoke strapped to a bed. He immediately noticed a nurse standing beside him and changing out a bag. He knew it was blood. He suddenly felt that mysterious energy drain from him, and he knew the power to reset the day was gone.

"You've messed it up," he told the nurse, who didn't reply. "You've really messed it up. You have no idea."

She left him alone, and Barney began working to release himself. He only succeeded in flipping onto his face and landing on the floor hard. He was really getting too old for this shit. He saw her boots approach, and she was suddenly there looking at him.

"I thought you were dead," Barney commented.

"Not quite," Rita answered. She helped flip him back up. "Time to reset."

"Ah! Hang on! No, no!" Barney shouted, and she paused, knife in hand hovering above his nose.

"What?" she asked.

"It's gone," Barney answered. "Transfusion."

Rita looked at the bag hanging and saw it was true. She lowered the knife, despair in her expression. Barney felt bad for causing her to feel that way. He had failed big time. He'd let her down yet again.

"Okay. Let's get out of here," Rita said.

"The damn thing is in the Louvre Pyramid," Barney told her. "I did find that out before this happened."

"Well, then I guess we need to figure out how to get there and kill it," Rita said, freeing Barney and helping him to his feet. He felt woozy and dizzy.

"Hang on," he said, bracing himself.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yea. Just having a moment," he answered. When he was seeing straight, he got up, and they left together.

He had no idea what was going to happen from there.

**Present Day**

Rita was sitting on the step and playing with her fingers when Lee showed up on his bike. He stopped and removed his helmet, looking at her with concern. Her face was very somber.

"What's wrong?" he asked, going to sit next to her.

"I think Tool knows who my biological father is," she answered.

"Okay," Lee said, not knowing what else to say.

"There's something about me that you don't know," she went on. "Something that I'm ashamed of, and something I've never told anyone. At least, I think I haven't." She was still wondering how Tool had found out. She felt it was more than just a lucky guess.

"You know you can tell me anything, right? I don't scare easily," Lee told her. She gave him a small smile. She knew that about him. He'd willingly gone with them to kill the Omega knowing he'd meet certain death. She swallowed. Watching him die had been very difficult. Watching them all die had been terrible. She blinked, bringing herself back to the present moment.

"Okay," she nodded. "Then I'll tell you."

"Christmas," Barney said, busting the door open and finding them there. "A word?"

"In a minute," Lee answered.

"We found Ivan," Barney told them. "So no, you don't have a minute."

Rita was the first to her feet. Her story could wait. She needed revenge on this man Ivan for what he'd done to her and her team. When Barney went back inside, Lee caught her hand gently before she could follow.

"You promise to still tell me when this is over?" he asked.

"Yes," she nodded. "That and the rest of it. I promise."

"Okay," he said, letting her go reluctantly.

"Where is he?" Rita asked as they walked inside. Tool had the computer up. He and Barney shared a look.

"He's here," Tool answered.

"What?" Toll asked, surprised. He, Gunner, Caesar, and Doc were standing to the side, listening.

"I think he caught wind that Rita was brought here," Barney explained. "That means he's looking for her."

"But we have the advantage, right?" Gunner asked. "I mean, we know he's here."

"We do," Tool agreed. "But, it concerns me that he came."

"Why?" Toll asked.

"You think he's come for you," Barney said, getting it.

"Probably. It didn't work with Rita, so he's gonna do it face to face with me," Tool nodded.

"Well, we'll be right here waiting for him," Gunner said. "Give him a nice, big hello."

"How did you find out he was here?" Rita asked Tool.

"My contact at the airport in Germany said he got on a flight for the States. He said he didn't know where it was landing, though."

"That's super helpful," Lee noted sarcastically.

Barney started coughing then, and everyone slowly turned to look at him as it grew worse.

"Let's get you some water, eh?" Toll said, going over to Barney and escorting him out of the room. When they were out of sight in the kitchen, Barney finally gasped for air and managed to stop coughing. He was breathing hard and shakily, though.

"Thanks," Barney said, looking at Toll, who handed him a glass of water.

"How long?" Toll asked.

"How long what?"

"Don't play stupid with me. My grandfather died from lung cancer, and he looked exactly like you do right now. How long, Barney?" Toll asked again.

"Not long."

"We talking days or weeks here?"

"Less than three months."

"Okay," Toll said, exhaling slowly. "Okay. You were hoping to die over there at war, weren't you?"

"Nobody gives you enough credit for being smart," Barney commented, chuckling a little. "Yea, that was the plan."

"And it backfired. So now what? You doing any treatment?"

"No."

"My grandfather didn't want to either," Toll nodded. "It's a rough death, man. Just saying."

"I'm hoping to get a bullet in me before that happens," Barney sighed. "Is that too much to ask? I mean, I'm in harm's way all the damn time. It's gotta happen eventually."

"Do any of the others know?" Toll asked.

"No," Barney shook his head. "And I'd like to keep it that way. I don't want the sympathy or the push to get treatment."

"All right," Toll nodded. "I won't say anything. I will say that you should reconsider telling them. They deserve to at least get to say goodbye to you when the time comes."

"And when it comes, they can," Barney agreed.

"What's going on?" Lee asked, coming into the kitchen then. He looked back and forth between Toll and Barney.

"Spit went down the wrong tube," Barney answered.

"You guys come up with a plan?" Toll asked, changing the subject.

"Sort of," Lee answered. "Tool figures Ivan will reach out to him, and we can plan an ambush after that."

"Sounds good," Barney said. Lee gave them one last look before rejoining the others.

"They won't buy that spit inhaling story for long," Toll cautioned him.

"Cross that bridge when I get there," Barney said, gesturing for Toll to leave ahead of him. Barney stood there for a moment alone, thinking about Rita and how he needed to tell her what she needed to know. He had to do it, and soon.

...

Rita waited until it was late before creeping down to let Lee in that night. They had spent the afternoon figuring out how to deal with Ivan. Tool was going to tell them when he knew for sure where Ivan was going to be in the morning. Tool had a few contacts around that were trying to help him.

"Coast clear?" Lee asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"You sure? I don't fancy getting stabbed by Tool. You sure you just don't want to come to my place?" Lee asked.

"Come on," she said, taking his hand and pulling him inside. Lee looked around nervously as they made their way to her room upstairs. Tool was on the main floor. Lee knew that much.

"I've never seen you scared before," Rita teased. "It's different."

"You'd be scared of your uncle too if you've seen what he can do," Lee said.

Rita closed her door and kissed him quietly. Lee held onto her tightly.

"You should be scared of me then," she said after a bit.

"Is that right?" he asked, a smirk on his lips.

"I think so," she replied with a smile. "All those resets made me the Full Metal Bitch, you know."

"Maybe this is a good time for you to tell me about it," Lee suggested.

"I was hoping to do something else," Rita said, tilting her head at him.

"After you tell me," Lee promised.

"Ugh," she groaned, sitting on the end of her bed and falling backwards on it, exasperated. "Fine."

Lee chuckled as he sat down next to her. She slowly explained it all. The Omega. The Alphas and Mimics. Her resetting the day for just about a whole year. She told him that Barney had it when they went to battle in France and how he managed to find the Omega. She told him about their battle in the Louvre and how she and Barney were in the water when the Omega was killed. She explained that she still had the power to reset the day and surmised that Barney must be able to as well. She left out Hendricks. It still wasn't easy to talk about losing her childhood best friend. She'd save it for another day.

"Okay. I officially have a headache," Lee said when she was done. She sat up to join him finally.

"I can help with that," she replied.

"Can you now?" he teased. She responded by kissing him gently and climbing into his lap.

...

Barney heard the noise and sat up. He wasn't sleeping anyway. There was too much on his mind. He got up quietly and followed the sound. It led him to the back step. He could see in the shadows that someone was standing there, watching.

Instinctively, Barney snapped on the outside light, shouting, "Hey!"

The man turned and shot Barney twice, making him grunt and stumble. The man disappeared into the night.

"Uncle?!" Rita shouted, pounding down the stairs at this point. Barney was on the ground outside, feeling the blood gush out of him.

"Barney!" she shrieked, seeing him. She and Lee ran to him.

"What the hell happened?" Lee demanded. "Barney?" He was down beside Barney's head, pressing his hand into Barney's wounds as best as he could to stop the bleeding.

"Ivan," Barney managed to say. Then he coughed.

"Barney, stay with me," Lee said. "Stay with me Barney. Barney..."

Barney closed his eyes, Lee's voice echoing in his brain.


	8. Chapter 8

**I am implementing a trigger warning for this chapter and for the rest of this story.**

* * *

**Heathrow Airport Base-One Month Earlier**

Barney knew Rita was in despair. They only had one shot at killing the Omega now. She was pacing in the mock battle station while Barney watched.

"You're sure it was in the Louvre?" she asked.

"Yes."

"We have to get there."

"I know."

"I can't believe you lost it."

"Hey, I was unconscious. I didn't know what was going on," Barney said defensively.

"We need a team," Rita was saying now. "We can't do this alone."

Barney knew she didn't know that Lee usually helped them out. He knew he'd need his whole team on this one, though. He knew it was a suicide mission, and he knew that they would be up for it because they always were. He hated to ask, though. It was him who wanted to die, not them.

"I have a team," Barney told her. Rita stopped pacing.

"You do?"

"Yea."

"You're just mentioning this now?"

"I've told you many times," Barney retorted. She gave him a look.

"Fine. Where are they? Can they be ready to go?"

"They can be."

"Then what are you waiting for?" she asked.

"Nothing," Barney shook his head. "Let's go." He walked and she followed. He had contemplated telling her that he was her father. He didn't want to upset her again, though, and he needed her to be emotionally sound for this suicide mission. He'd save it for another time, if there even would be another time. It was a risk he was going to have to take.

...

Barney brought his team out back. Gunner, Toll, Yang, Doc, Caesar, and Lee all looked at him while Rita hung in the shadows.

"What's going on, Barney?" Lee asked.

"I gotta tell you something crazy, and I need you to believe me," Barney said. "It's gonna help us end this war."

"Just tell us, man," Caesar said. "We're dealing with aliens and shit. I'll believe anything."

Barney launched into his explanation. By the time he was done, he had six men looking at him in shock.

"Damn," Toll commented. "That is some crazy shit."

"You don't have the power anymore," Lee said. "So this is it if you fail."

"Yup," Barney nodded.

"You want us to go with you," Doc confirmed.

"Only if you want to."

"I'm in," Gunner said. "Let's kill this bastard."

"What the hell," Yang shrugged. "We will die anyway. Might as well go out trying."

"Let's do it," Toll agreed.

"I call shotgun," Caesar said.

"You know I go where you go," Lee said to Barney.

"Doc?" Barney prompted. "In or out?"

"Aw hell. I can't be the only one out," Doc sighed. "Let's go."

"You're one hell of a team, you know that?" Barney said. "Anyway, this is Rita. She is going to be helping us too."

Rita gave a wave, and the others greeted her in return.

"Where are we going?" Lee asked, his eyes lingering on Rita a little longer than the others.

"The Louvre."

"We got a plane?"

"I'm working on it," Barney answered. He had one in mind. "You guys go load up."

"You got it," Toll nodded, heading off to get his stuff. The others followed. Barney went to get the plane, leaving Rita and Lee by themselves.

"Surprised to see me?" she asked.

"I didn't think I would ever see you again," he answered.

"Well, it looks like it could be the last time this time," she said with a wry smile. She wasn't going to lie. She had thought about Lee a lot since their knife throwing contest recently.

"Then I won't waste any time," Lee said, moving closer to her.

"What're you doing?" she asked when he pulled her into him. She gripped his shirt in her hands, looking at him.

"Something I should have done before," he answered. Rita closed her eyes as he kissed her. She knew a lot of people would call her crazy for wanting to be with a man she barely knew right before she died, but hey, she was going to die. And there was something about Lee that just felt right.

"Come with me," she said when they eventually pulled apart. She knew they didn't have long.

"Are we crazy?" Lee asked when they found a hiding spot. Rita wasted no time kissing him again.

"I haven't stopped thinking about you since we met, and if I'm going to die in the next few hours, then I want to at least have this moment with you," Rita said, his face in her hands. "So maybe that makes me crazy, but I don't care."

"I don't care either," Lee replied.

"Have you thought about me at all?" she asked between kisses.

"Every waking minute," he answered.

"That's good enough for me," she said, allowing herself to let go, even if it was just for five minutes.

...

Barney looked up to see Lee and Rita walking towards him holding hands. He chuckled to himself. Of course they'd squeeze that in before they went onward to their deaths.

"What?" Lee asked, seeing Barney's face.

"Oh, nothing."

"You don't seem surprised," Rita pointed out.

"Only because you two hook up a lot," Barney answered.

"We do?" Lee asked, surprised.

"Oh yea."

Barney went around to the other side of the plane for a minute, finishing what he was doing. Rita looked at Lee, who was already looking at her.

"Well, I guess we obviously have a connection," she commented. She wondered if maybe unconsciously her body remembered it. She knew it didn't work that way, though.

"If there is any chance in hell that we survive this," Lee said. "I will take you on a proper date."

"I'll hold you to it," Rita smiled. She released his hand reluctantly, moving to gear up. The others had rejoined them by this point.

"I'm not promising we're all gonna come back from this," Barney said. "In fact, I'm pretty positive none of us are."

"Real good speech there, Barn," Toll said sarcastically. "I wanna get into the plane even more now."

"Look, we knew coming over here was a risk. Every mission we've ever done was a risk. We're doing this for humanity," Barney said. "We're doing this because we have to. I just want to say that I'm proud of each and every one of you, and it's been a good run."

"Hear, hear," Gunner said. The others echoed him.

Barney slid on his lucky ring as they all climbed into the plane. Rita was last, and she stopped in front of him before getting in.

"Thank you," she said. "For doing this."

"Someone has to," he answered. He knew his lucky ring wasn't going to save them this time, but it was going to get them to the Omega to kill it. He had to believe that. He helped her in and climbed in after her. Then they were in the air.

**Present Day **

Rita, Lee, and Tool sat in the hospital waiting room. Lee was covered in Barney's blood, but he didn't care. The nurses did give him a look, though, until they realized it wasn't his blood.

"He's gonna be all right, right?" Rita asked.

"I don't know. It was a lot of blood," Lee answered.

Rita was thoughtful. If they didn't give him a transfusion, and he died, then he'd come back 24 hours earlier.

"Ivan will strike again," Tool said, making them both look at him.

"We gotta be ready this time," Lee said urgently.

"He's after this," Tool said, showing him a flash drive.

"What's on it?"

"Information that he really needs."

"How did you get it?"

"Long story. It ends with me taking it from him," Tool answered, waving his hand dismissively.

"Hey, we got here as soon as we could," Caesar said, appearing with Doc, Gunner, and Toll then. They had dealt with the police and tried to find Ivan to no avail.

"He was pretty ballsy to show up at your place," Toll said angrily.

"He always was that way," Tool agreed.

"Any news on Barney?" Gunner asked.

"Not yet," Lee answered.

"Man, I don't know what we'd do without Barney," Caesar said, sitting down heavily. Gunner and Doc followed suit. Toll stayed standing, and he looked unsure about something. Lee noticed.

"You got something to say, Toll?" he asked.

"No," Toll shook his head. Lee knew he was lying. He stood and went over to Toll.

"Let's go for a walk," he suggested.

"I'm good," Toll insisted. Lee grabbed his shoulder then.

"Now," he said fiercely.

"Easy," Toll growled, shaking him off. He followed Lee reluctantly. They found a quiet corner down the hall.

"What's going on?" Lee demanded. "And don't lie to me."

"He asked me not to say anything..." Toll started.

"I don't care. He's probably in there dying, so out with it. What's wrong with him?"

Toll sighed heavily, scratching the back of his head.

"He's got cancer, Lee. He's got less than three months."

Lee stood there feeling gutted. His best friend was dying from cancer, and he didn't even tell anyone?

"You sure?" Lee asked.

"Yea, man. I'm sure. I tried to get him to tell everyone, but he doesn't want the sympathy," Toll said. Lee moved his hand to grip his face. Barney was dying regardless of what happened here tonight. It was a thought he couldn't fathom.

"Shit," he said.

"I know," Toll agreed.

"Lee?" Rita called, making them both look at her. "The doctor is here."

Lee and Toll hurried back to the others where the doctor was waiting to deliver the news.

"Fortunately, he's stable. We were successful in removing the bullets. Nothing major was hit. We did give him a blood transfusion, though, as he lost quite a bit of blood before getting here. He's ready for visitors now."

"Thanks, Doc," Tool said. The doctor bowed her head and walked off.

"I'll go first," Lee said before anyone else could. No one argued with him. He found Barney lying in his hospital bed staring at the ceiling. Lee took in his friend for a moment before announcing his arrival. It pained him to see how frail Barney looked. How had he missed it before?

"Hey," Barney said, clearing his throat. "He lives for another day."

"You're like a cat with nine lives, you know," Lee commented, sitting in the chair beside him. The way he was looking at him made Barney realize his friend knew.

"You know," he said.

"I threatened physical harm to Toll," Lee admitted. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want you looking at me the way you are right now," Barney answered.

"I told you all that smoking would catch up to you," Lee said, going for a joke. Barney cracked a smile.

"You didn't tell the others?"

"No."

"Good. Don't."

"Barney..."

"I'm sick, but I can still maim people," Barney pointed out. "Keep quiet about it."

"Fine," Lee caved.

"You gotta find Ivan," Barney went on.

"We're working on it. You focus on getting better."

"Will do."

Lee sat there looking at Barney, and he had no idea how he would carry on in life without him.

...

When Tool and Rita were alone, he leaned in to her to tell her something quietly.

"I know where Ivan is."

"You do? How?" Rita asked.

"One of my contacts pulled through. They spotted him," Tool answered. "I have coordinates to his hideout, and we can ambush him there."

"You're clever," Rita smiled.

"You got it from somewhere, right?" Tool joked. Then he grew somber. "Have you talked to your mother?"

"Not yet."

"You should do it soon."

"I will when I'm ready," Rita replied. Tool patted her hand and dropped the subject. It was almost four in the morning, and everyone was exhausted by this point. They had all gone to see Barney for a few moments before he fell asleep. Now, they had slowly disbanded and went to catch some sleep themselves before planning their attack on Ivan in the morning. Tool stayed behind, though, to look after Barney. Lee took Rita to his place as he didn't want her to be at risk at Tool's.

"That was quite the night," Lee said as he turned his lamp on in his room. He was ready to face plant onto his pillows and sleep until the end of time. He noticed Rita was quiet and turned to see her standing there hugging herself.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked. He went over to her, and she looked at him.

"I've seen you all die," she whispered. Lee felt the hairs on his arms and neck stand up at this because he knew she was telling the truth. She had explained the whole reliving the day thing to him after all.

"This just reminded you," he said, getting it.

"Yea," she nodded.

"C'mere," he said, pulling her into his arms and letting her bury her face into his shoulder. She held onto him tightly, trying not to think about how Barney gave away his chance of resetting the day. Maybe he had a point. Maybe she should let it go too.

If only she wasn't so afraid to.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Louvre-One Month Earlier**

"Caesar on guns," Barney instructed. "We gotta stay sharp, guys. These things are brutal."

"What do they look like again?" Gunner asked. Barney remembered that none of them had seen a Mimic or an Alpha yet, that they hadn't made it to the beach.

"Big and ugly," he answered.

"Oh, that's super helpful. Thanks," Gunner said sarcastically.

"Don't ask stupid questions if you don't want a stupid answer," Barney shot back. "It's an alien. They look like an alien."

"They are fast," Rita cut in before an argument could start. "So be on the lookout."

"Do they know we're coming?" Lee asked Barney. He was in the front as usual.

"I don't think so. I don't know if they sensed me tapping into their source or not," Barney said. He had briefly explained about the device Dr. Carter had created to find the Omega.

"Looks like this is our last mission," Lee said after a minute.

"Looks that way."

"Any regrets?" Lee asked. Barney looked back at Rita and the others before answering.

"Everyone's got regrets, Christmas," he said.

"You think I'm crazy for being with a woman I barely know?" Lee asked.

"All of this is crazy. I wouldn't expect any less."

"You said it happened a lot?"

"It did, yea. You two clearly have some kind of connection with each other."

"I feel it. Even though I didn't live all those days, I somehow feel it," Lee nodded. Barney didn't want to comment that Lee had slept with his daughter. It was kind of bugging him, though.

"All right," Barney said. "Almost to the drop zone. Go hook up."

Lee went to do so, telling the others at the same time.

"Thirty seconds!" Barney called back to them. Lee turned to look at Rita, who had a look of anticipation on her face. Before he could say anything, their plane was hit.

"Son of a bitch!" Caesar shrieked, firing the gun at all the sudden moving targets.

"Drop! Drop!" Barney shouted.

Gunner and Yang dropped instantly.

"Doc? Doc!" Toll yelled, seeing Doc unmoving. "Oh God."

Lee felt the knot in his stomach. Doc hadn't even made it off the damn plane. Rita grabbed his hand and gave him a shake.

"Stay focused!" she yelled.

"DROP!" Barney bellowed once more. They obeyed. Barney braced himself as the plane went down. Caesar was still shooting the gun until he was knocked off and fell out. The plane landed and skidded to a stop. Barney was shaking as he tried to steady his breathing. He clambered out of the plane and landed on the ground in the water.

"Lee?" he called. "Toll? Rita? Anyone?"

"Here," Lee called back. He found them huddled together. Yang was hurt bad. He could barely move. Gunner, Lee, Rita, Toll, and Caesar were seemingly okay, just banged up.

"Where's Doc?" Barney asked.

"He got hit on the plane," Toll answered. The others reacted to this with shock and somber expressions. Gunner put his hand over his heart.

"Shit," Barney said, feeling devastated. "All right. We have to keep going."

"We can get that plane started again and drive it across," Rita suggested. "We'll never make it there on foot."

"Sounds good. Let's go."

"I'm no good," Yang said. "I'll hold them off."

Barney felt another swell of emotion then, but he knew this was the cost of the mission. He just hated that he couldn't bring them back this time. He went over to him and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, brother," he said. Yang bowed his head, gripping Barney's hand back with his own before Barney had to pull away.

"I'll help," Gunner said.

The others raced back to the plane, and Lee and Barney worked to get it started again.

"Caesar, you good on the guns still?" Barney asked.

"Yea."

"Toll, shoot out the other side."

"You got it," Toll nodded.

"We're good to go," Lee said as the plane started again. Barney took over the controls.

"Let's get this son of a bitch," he growled. Rita and Lee went to the back and held on to something to keep from falling.

Back where Yang and Gunner were holding off the Mimics, Yang turned to Gunner.

"You gotta go," he said.

"No," Gunner shook his head. "You're not dying alone. I'll see you on the other side."

They bumped fists, and stood side by side as the Mimics came at them. When their guns were empty, they both looked at each other.

"Boom time," Gunner said.

"Boom time," Yang agreed. They both yelled and reached for the bombs on their vests.

Toll looked back at the explosion as the plane lurched ahead.

"Don't look back," Lee told him, seeing.

"They're our brothers, Lee," Toll said.

"I know. They just gave us a head's start. Don't waste it," Lee ordered. Toll started firing at the Mimics that were chasing them now. Caesar was yelling and firing too.

"LEE!" Barney shouted. Lee ran to the front and started shooting at the Mimics ahead of them. Rita helped too.

"CAESAR!" Toll bellowed. Barney whipped his head back to see the gun empty, and he knew what had happened.

"Come on, come on," he said under his breath. He couldn't waste any of this.

"Toll, get on the gun!" Lee shouted. Toll obeyed. Lee went to the back to cover the other side while Rita stayed to shoot out the front.

"They're coming in from the roof!" Toll yelled. Lee turned to shoot at the ones trying to get in. If his adrenaline wasn't pumping so hard, he'd be terrified. Toll moved the gun outside of the plane and started shooting the Mimics on the outside.

"Hang on!" Barney yelled as they crashed through a structure. Rita was thrown backwards. Lee grabbed her hand before she went flying out of the plane, and she righted herself quickly. Lee caught sight of Toll bouncing along outside.

"Brace yourselves!" Barney shouted then, and Lee grabbed a hold of Rita and protected her with his body as best as he could as they crashed into the Louvre.

**Present Day**

Barney opened his eyes to see Tool sitting there watching him.

"I bet your ass is flat," he commented. "You stay there all night?"

"Someone had to make sure Ivan didn't come to finish the job," Tool shrugged.

"It's not me he's after," Barney pointed out.

"All the same," Tool said.

"I don't know if I can finish this one for you," Barney admitted. He wasn't feeling good at all.

"I don't expect you to," Tool said. "The team's got it."

"You know?" Barney asked.

"It wasn't hard to notice," Tool replied. "You look like shit."

"Thanks."

"Cancer?"

"Yea."

"Shit."

"I know," Barney agreed.

"How long?"

"Not long."

"Well, we all have to go sometime, right?" Tool said. He cleared his throat though. He could feel tears coming.

"You tell Maria that I never stopped loving her, all right? I never did."

"She knows."

"How?"

"She told me. I can also see that in your face too."

"Is my face just an open book for everybody?" Barney asked, disgruntled.

"Just me, man."

"When you get Ivan, we'll have a nice get together. All of us. It'll be my way of saying goodbye."

"You're not going to let the cancer kill you, are you?" Tool asked. Barney shook his head. Tool didn't ask any more questions. He didn't want to know the answers.

...

Lee awoke to Rita kissing him. They'd fallen asleep in each other's arms once Rita had stopped crying.

"I could get used to that wake up call," he teased.

She just kissed him more, which he reciprocated. For once, there were no interruptions.

"Have we done this before?" he asked afterwards. She was lying half on him, her arm thrown around his neck.

"Once," she answered. "In my memory anyway. Barney said we did this a lot, though."

"Is that why it felt familiar?" Lee questioned. She gave him a small shove, making him laugh.

"I wish I didn't remember," she admitted. "It would have been new to both of us."

"Well, you can't change it. It's okay. I'm not bothered by it at all," Lee promised. His phone rang then, and he reached to answer.

"You finished with my niece?" Tool asked, not even saying hello.

"Excuse me?"

"Get over here. We're taking down Ivan."

"All right," Lee said as Tool hung up on him.

"My uncle?" Rita asked.

"Yea. He sounded pissed."

"Well, Ivan did show up uninvited to his place last night and shot his best friend."

"True."

They hurried to get ready and left to meet Tool and the others.

...

Barney had a bad feeling about the whole thing. When Tool left, he struggled to get up and out of the bed.

"Sir? What are you doing?" the nurse asked, seeing him and coming into his room.

"I'm fine. I'm going home."

"You can't go home. You've suffered injuries and a surgery..."

"I feel fantastic," Barney cut her off. "Look, I gotta go. My friends are in danger."

"Then call the police..."

"Just shut up and unhook me," Barney ordered. The nurse stared at him.

"No," she said simply.

"Okay, but you can write in your report that I did ask nicely," Barney said, ripping out the IV and other wires himself.

"I really don't think..."

"I can walk out of here on my own free will, and I'm going to," Barney objected. "Thank you."

The nurse didn't stop him, and Barney walked out of that hospital after borrowing a pair of nurse's pants and made his way back to Tool's.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" Tool asked when Barney appeared. The others smirked at his outfit.

"You need me, just admit it," Barney said. "Get me some proper clothes please." Toll hurried to do so.

"You're not able to do this," Rita argued.

"Watch me," Barney snorted. "I've had worse and gotten through worse."

"Here," Toll said, handing him clothes. Barney went to change quickly before returning.

"What's the plan?" Barney asked.

"Get him surrounded and take him out," Tool answered. "Simple."

Gunshots sounded outside, making them all duck as glass shattered and bullets flew overhead.

"You wanna run me through that plan again?" Barney asked from the floor.

"He obviously knew we'd find him and came back," Tool grimaced.

"Go, go, go!" Toll was shouting. He slid a gun to Barney, who caught it expertly. He fired back.

If anyone wasn't going to get through this, it would be him.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Louvre-One Month Earlier**

"Toll? Toll!" Lee shouted, rushing to Toll, who was lying face down on the slab of cement. Rita and Barney watched as they followed. Lee turned Toll over and saw that there was no life in his eyes. He had no pulse either.

"Dammit," Lee moaned.

"He hit that pretty hard," Barney said.

"Yea, well, if he was Tom Cruise, he would have made it," Lee shot back.

"This ain't a damn movie, Lee," Barney retorted. "Come on."

"You're acting like this doesn't matter," Lee said angrily.

"We don't have time to mourn the dead right now. If we don't keep going, we lose. Do you understand? The whole world loses, Lee," Barney said back.

There was rumbling, and Rita shouted as their structure collapsed and the three of them fell down to the lower level. Lee covered Rita with his body to protect her as best as he could from falling debris. Barney covered his head with his arms. When it finally stopped, they looked at each other, and Lee helped Rita off the ground. Barney was coughing. They huddled together, catching their breaths. The rubble created a barrier to the Mimics above, who were pounding on it.

"The Omega is at the bottom of this thing," Barney said when he stopped coughing. He took off his grenade belt then and handed it to Rita. "You get the honors."

"Me?" Rita asked.

"You've been after this thing for a very long time. I got you here. You do it," Barney said.

"Thank you," Rita said, taking the grenades from him. She strapped it to herself, hands shaking a little. A noise made them duck for cover. Lee peeked around to see a bigger looking Mimic prowling around. He brought his head back.

"It's blue," he said. "What does it mean when they're blue?"

"It's an Alpha," Rita confirmed.

"We can't kill those ones," Barney said. "They reset the day."

"So what do we do?" Lee asked. They all looked at each other, knowing this was the end.

"Well, one of us can distract the Alpha while Rita gets the bombs to the Omega," Barney said.

"I'll do it," Lee said. "You're not that fast anymore."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that," Barney commented.

"You really need to start accepting the truth," Lee argued.

"Guys," Rita hissed. "Come on."

"I'll go one way, and you go another," Barney said.

"Fine," Lee agreed.

"Wait," Rita said before Lee stood up. Barney looked away as she kissed Lee one last time.

"Good luck," he told her.

"I wish we had more time," she whispered.

"Me too."

"Tick tock," Barney said.

"Go," Rita ordered. Both Lee and Barney ran for it in different directions. Rita made her way to where the Omega was. She heard crashing and turned to see Lee jump over an obstacle before getting attacked by the Alpha. She put her hand over her mouth as she watched the Alpha pound into Lee, killing him. She forced herself to look away and jumped into the water.

...

Barney knew Lee was gone. He looked to see the Alpha rushing back to where Rita had gone, and he panicked. If Rita failed, they were all doomed. He had a grenade left on him. It was better than nothing. He raced back to the hole and jumped in. He swam hard downward, feeling his lungs complain and his body ache. He saw the Alpha shoot its leg through Rita just before the Omega, and she screamed. The water muffled the sound, but Barney still heard it. He reached for his grenade, knowing he had one shot at this, when he saw Rita turn around to face the Alpha and hold up all five rings of her grenades. She smiled.

Then it all went white.

...

Barney awoke with a gasp, and Gunner snorted.

"Bad dreams?" he asked. Barney looked at them all, his team, and he almost cried. They were all alive, looking at him as though he'd lost his mind. He was starting to think that maybe he had.

"You okay?" Toll asked.

"Yea. I'm fine," Barney answered.

"Guys, something's happening," Caesar said. They could hear cheering and celebrating. Barney followed his men outside, watching the spectacle before him.

"What's going on?" Barney asked the nearest officer.

"The War is over. Some type of force blew up last night. The aliens are dead. It's over!"

Barney blinked. Then it all hit him. He reached for the wall to brace himself as the images of everyone dying and the Omega blowing up came full force. It hadn't just been a bad dream after all. He slipped away, looking for Rita. He found her on the floor in her favorite position, hovering.

She stood up when she saw him.

"Barney," she said.

"You remember too?" he asked.

"Yes. We killed the Omega," she answered.

"You did," Barney corrected.

"How do you remember?" she asked, curious.

"I was in the water with you. I thought you might not make it, so I was back up," Barney answered.

"This is so bizarre. Dr. Carter will have a field day with this."

"Look, don't tell my team."

"I wasn't going to."

"That means you can't tell Lee about it either," Barney told her, his meaning clear.

"Oh. Right."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay," Rita shook her head. "Maybe when this is all over, I'll look him up."

"He'd like that," Barney smiled.

"Thank you for everything," Rita said, reaching to shake his hand. Barney almost told her, but he refrained. Some secrets were better left buried.

"You're welcome," he said. Then he walked away and out of her life forever. Or so he thought.

**Present Day**

Barney slid into the wall beside Toll, panting. The cancer inside of him had definitely destroyed him slowly. He was not feeling so good.

"You okay?" Toll asked, his hand on Barney's shoulder and gripping it tightly.

"Yea."

"What's the plan, Tool?" Lee's voice called out. Barney looked to see him, Rita, and Caesar against the opposite wall. Tool and Gunner were underneath the kitchen table while Doc was under the stairs.

"I know you're in there!" a voice called through the door. "Give me what I want, and we'll walk away."

"No," Tool shook his head hard. "He can't have it back. He just can't."

"Is there another way out of this place?" Rita asked quietly.

"Back door," Lee answered. "Unless they're covering it."

"Don't dally," the voice said. "I can end you all in an instant. Do you really want to find out for sure?"

"Come on," Barney said, crawling towards the bathroom on the main floor. The others slowly followed him. He found the small crowbar he'd hidden there and started lifting up the tiles.

"What are you doing?" Gunner asked.

"You think we didn't put in an escape route?" Barney countered. He had all the tiles up now and revealed a hatch in the floor.

"I sense wading in shit in our future," Doc commented.

"It goes to the backyard," Barney said. "You've only got one shot to take them by surprise."

"Who's going?" Lee asked.

"I'm staying," Tool said.

"As am I," Barney added.

"I'll stay too," Toll said. Gunner nodded as well.

"All right, so Lee, Rita, Doc, and Caesar are out," Barney said. "Go. Hurry."

"Take this," Tool said, handing the memory stick to Rita. She pocketed it quickly.

Lee went down first, flashlight in his teeth. He hit the ground and helped Rita down next. Doc jumped down and then Caesar. Barney put the hatch down and looked at the others.

"It doesn't go to the backyard, does it?" Toll asked.

"It takes them far away from here," Barney answered, nodding. He locked the hatch so they wouldn't come back up.

"It's not too late to leave," Tool said to Toll and Gunner.

"You need us," Toll replied. "We're staying."

"Okay," Barney nodded. "Let's show them who's boss."

...

Lee knew almost instantly that they were not just going to the backyard. The farther they walked, the more sure he was.

"Damn that Barney," Doc said.

"Hurry up," Lee ordered. "It ends eventually, and we're going back."

They came to the end of their tunnel, and Doc groaned.

"I told you. Shit," he said, gesturing. They hopped down into the water, which they all knew wasn't just water.

"So we're coming out of a manhole," Caesar noted as they walked. "That could be anywhere."

"We've been in here for about twenty minutes," Lee said. "We're not that far away."

"They could be dead by now," Rita said quietly. Lee didn't want to think that.

"When we get out, you go hide somewhere with that stick," he instructed. "I don't know what's on it, but Tool obviously wants it around otherwise he'd have destroyed it."

"I'll call you when I'm good," she advised.

"Up, up, and away," Doc said when he spied the ladder and started climbing it. He grunted and shoved the manhole cover aside. A car horn and squealing breaks occurred almost instantaneously, and Doc dropped down just before he got hit by the car.

"Right in the middle of the street. Perfect," Caesar said sarcastically.

"Not quite the middle, but close enough," Doc corrected. "Okay. Up!" He hauled himself out and held his hands up at traffic to stop while the others followed suit.

"I'm burning these pants," Caesar said as they hurried back towards Barney and the fight. Lee gave one last look to Rita as she ran down the street without looking back. He hoped she would stay safe.

...

"Where is it?" Ivan asked. Barney, Tool, Gunner, and Toll were kneeling on the floor with Ivan's men surrounding them. They hadn't lasted long.

"Gone," Tool answered. "I destroyed it."

"I rather much doubt that. You don't destroy leverage."

Barney looked at Tool. What the hell was Ivan talking about?

"It's not here," Tool insisted. "Sorry you came all this way for nothing. I gave it to the feds."

"Not with your sister's information on there you didn't," Ivan sneered.

"Excuse me?" Barney asked, cutting in.

"Not the time, Barney," Tool answered.

"You didn't know? His sister is CIA. If that memory stick is in the wrong hands, she gets burned. He doesn't want that."

"Why the hell didn't you destroy it, man?" Toll asked, incredulous.

"Because he needed the other information about me and my competitors. He can use it with the feds as information to support his little mercenary gang he's got going on here."

"Maria was CIA?" Barney asked Tool.

"She hasn't been for a long time. Not since Rita was born."

"She still did a lot of different ops that can come back to haunt her," Ivan finished for him. "Right? We never could find her after she went into hiding."

"I hate to repeat myself, but it's not here, Ivan. You're out of luck," Tool said. Ivan stood there looking thoughtful.

"The woman has it," he said suddenly. "Let's go. Bury them."

Ivan turned to leave, and Barney braced himself for getting executed when gunshots flew through the already broken windows. Ivan made a run for it, but his men started to go down fast. Barney took down the one standing next to him and killed him. They got their guns back as Lee, Doc, and Caesar came in the door.

"If you hadn't sent us away, we could have prevented that," Lee said.

"Well, you're here now," Barney commented. "Come on. He's going after Rita again."

Lee felt the pit in his stomach. He hoped they wouldn't find her.

...

Rita was out of breath as she made her way into a cafe. She decided to hunker down there and act invisible. She doubted that Ivan would look for her in a public space. She sat near the back and opened a newspaper, burying her head behind it. She steadied her hands and did her breathing exercises. They would all be all right. It wouldn't matter what happened to her because she could come back and change it all.

She missed the blonde woman near the entrance, who reached for her phone.

She missed the woman's words into the phone as the woman looked at her.

"She's here."


	11. Chapter 11

Lee was restless. Rita still hadn't called him. He had a very bad feeling about it. They were at Barney's hangar now, gearing up for a fight. Ivan was still loose in the town, and they were going to take him out.

"I'm sorry you found out that way," Tool said, coming up next to Barney.

"Oh, I'm used to people lying to me."

"She never told me. I found out from that stick, and she doesn't know I know."

"What is on that stick, Tool?" Barney asked.

"Ivan figured out who she was, and some of her past ops are on there. I can't get rid of it because all the other information is indeed leverage, just like he said."

"So delete the parts about her."

"They're intertwined with the other bad guys. It's not that simple."

"Ivan is the only one who knows about the stick?"

"Yea."

"Let's hope so," Barney sighed. He noticed Lee pacing and took that to be a bad sign. He walked over to his friend.

"She's not calling," Lee said as soon as Barney got there. "Something's happened."

"Why did you let her go alone?"

"Because she can handle herself."

"Right. Well, we all know what Ivan did to her the first time," Barney said.

"Hang on," Lee said, seeing her calling him. "Rita?"

"Rita can't come to the phone right now," Ivan answered. "You tell Tool that I get that memory stick or she dies."

Lee didn't understand. Rita had the memory stick, didn't she?

"Meet me by the airstrip by the river. No tricks. Got it?"

"Yea."

They hung up, and Lee looked at them all.

"Doesn't Rita have the stick?" Doc asked, echoing Lee's thoughts.

"Yea," he answered.

"She's ditched it," Tool said.

If that was true, then they were all in trouble.

...

"Sit tight," Barney said to the others when they stopped a block away. "Tool and I will go in. If there's any trouble, you are there to take him out."

"Got it," Lee nodded.

"She'll be fine," Barney promised. Lee didn't say anything. He hated that Barney always seemed to know what he was thinking.

...

Rita felt herself annoyed that once again, Ivan got the best of her. She stood on the airstrip in front of him and his men, waiting for Barney to show up. Ivan's girlfriend was waiting in the car. It started to rain at this point, which further annoyed her.

"You better hope he holds up his end of the deal," Ivan said.

"Do your worst," Rita snapped. She got hit with the end of his rifle for that, and she fell forward onto her knees. A truck showed up then, and Barney and Tool got out. They walked slowly towards them. Rita wondered where the rest of the team was.

"Here's your damn stick," Tool said, holding out what Rita knew to be a decoy. "Let her go."

"Toss it over," Ivan ordered. Tool did so, and Ivan caught it. He looked at Rita then. "Go."

She was on her feet and walking towards Barney and Tool fast.

"Come on," Barney said, putting his arm around her shoulders and walking with her. He turned to see one of Ivan's men pointing a rifle at Rita, and instinct kicked in.

He put himself in the path of the bullet.

"BARNEY!" Rita screamed as he fell. Ivan and his men scattered, taking off in their trucks. Tool shot off some rounds, but it didn't do any good. That was what the rest of the team was for. They crashed into Ivan's truck and got out guns blazing. Everyone was dead within moments.

Rita hovered over Barney, who was dying fast before her eyes.

"Hang on," she said.

"No," he shook his head. "It's...okay."

"It's not okay," she argued. She put her hands on his wound.

"Rita," he said. "I'm dying anyway. Cancer."

"No," she shook her head. She refused to believe it.

"There's...something else," he said, knowing he was fading fast.

"What?" she asked. "What is it?"

"I'm so...sorry."

"It's okay, Barney. It's okay."

"No 's not," he said, his words beginning to slur a little. "I wassn't there for you."

"You did enough. You saved the world with me, Barney," Rita said, thinking that was what he was referring to.

"No," he gasped. "Rita...I'm...your father."

Rita froze as the words sank into her brain.

"Barney!" Lee was shouting.

"I'm sorry," Barney said. He grabbed Rita's hand and held it tightly. Rita felt herself crying because all the years of imagining who her real father was came flooding into her mind, and there he was, dying in front of her.

"Please stay," she begged.

"Lemme go," he said. "Don't...do...it."

Rita did not promise such a thing. She was irked that he knew that was her plan.

"Lemme go," Barney said again.

"Barney," Lee said again, sliding on the ground into them. "Barney."

Barney did not respond because he had faded away seconds after uttering his last words. Rita sank down into him, crying harder. Lee was feeling for Barney's pulse and sat back stunned when he didn't find it. He looked up at the others, who were waiting for his verdict, and he shook his head. Gunner and Toll hung their heads. Doc threw the knife in his hand out of anger. Caesar shouted and punched the side of the SUV before walking off to be alone. Tool just stood there, silent tears running down his cheeks.

Lee sat there feeling numb. He had no idea what they were going to do without Barney.

...

Rita stood in the bathroom at Lee's apartment and stared at herself in the mirror. It was just after eleven at night. She and Lee had left the others, who were dealing with Barney's body. She couldn't take it anymore.

_I'm your father._

The words echoed in her brain over and over. Barney was her father. He was sorry for not being there for her. She couldn't believe it still.

"Rita?" Lee said, coming in and seeing her standing there. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay," she answered.

"He's left a hole in all of our lives," Lee said.

"That's not it," Rita said, turning to face him.

"Then what is it?" he asked, confused.

"You all got to know him. He was family to you."

"Yea..."

"He never got to be my family, and he was my father," Rita said, clenching her hands again. "He was my father, and he left me behind with my mother. He left me." She started to cry again. Lee was absolutely shocked, but he instinctively went to put his arms around her and hold her tight against him.

"I had no idea," he said.

"He told me right before he died."

"I'm so sorry."

"I spent night after night praying he'd come save me," Rita whispered. "That he'd save me from what my stepfather was doing to me."

"What?" Lee asked, growing angry then. "What are you saying?"

"It's what I wanted to tell you before. Lee, I was sexually abused," Rita said, pulling back and looking at him. "For too long."

"Where is he?" Lee asked.

"No. I have to deal with this on my own."

"I swear I'll kill him," Lee said. He was beyond angry now. He was furious. Rita put her hands on his face carefully.

"Leave it to me," she replied. "Please?"

Lee gritted his teeth and exhaled hard, but he couldn't ignore her request.

"Fine."

"Thank you," she said, hugging him again. When they broke apart, she reached for her gun.

"Whoa, what are you doing?!" Lee exclaimed.

"He's not getting off that easy," she answered. Lee grabbed her wrist hard.

"Don't," he said. "He wouldn't want you to."

"I just want 24 hours with him," Rita said. "That's all."

"Rita, it's done," Lee insisted. "Don't."

"Please just trust me," Rita said.

"No."

Rita gave him a level stare before reaching for her second gun and getting the shot off before he could react.

She was going to make this reset count.


	12. Chapter 12

**24 Hours Earlier**

Rita gasped as she lurched forward.

"You okay?" Lee asked, concerned. She blinked. Then she realized she was in her room at Tool's, and she had snuck Lee in for the night. His hand was on her waist currently, and he was looking at her.

"Hang on," she said, getting up.

"What's wrong?"

"Just trust me."

She went to run when the gunshots sounded downstairs.

"Shit," she said to herself as she ran. She had been too late to stop Barney from getting shot. Lee was behind her instantly, and they found Barney on the floor bleeding while Tool was calling for an ambulance.

"Stay with me, Barney," Lee was saying.  
She let the rest play out. She knew exactly when she would have her moment.

...

Barney opened his eyes to find Rita sitting there. From the way she was looking at him, Barney surmised that she knew who he was.

"You couldn't help yourself, could you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Cut the bullshit. You're mad at me, and that means you know who I am, and that means you disobeyed what I assume was my last order and reset the damn day, didn't you?" Barney asked.

"Did you think you were gonna get off that easy?" she countered.

"Clearly I told you on my deathbed."

"You did. That is not something you just dump on another person before dying," Rita snapped.

"Okay, I get that you're mad, but you're here now. Let's talk."

"I'm not mad. I'm just...confused."

"It was confusing for me too at first," Barney admitted. Finding out he had a daughter was quite a shock.

"Why did you leave me?" she asked, getting right to the point.

"I loved your mother more than anyone in the world," Barney said. "We just couldn't make it work. I never knew about you until you showed me her picture back during the War. I realized then who you were. So no, I didn't leave you because I didn't know about you. She never told me. If I had known, I would have come back. I would have been your father. I would have figured it out somehow."

"I always felt it was my fault that you didn't stay," Rita whispered. "That you didn't want me."

"That is not true at all," Barney argued. "I promise you that."

"I wish we had more time," she said.

"So do I. I take it I don't last long."

"Now that I know what Ivan does, he won't stand a chance," Rita advised. "But you...please stay here."

"I'm not planning on dying from cancer, Rita. I assume you know about that too."

"I do. I know you don't want to, but please give us a little more time. Please."

"If I'm meant to die, then I'm dying, Rita."

"Come with me to see her. Help me confront Tony. See my mother one last time. Please," Rita begged. "She still loves you. She never said it, but whenever I asked about you, she got this look in her eye. She has letters from you, but your name was never signed. I knew they were from you, though. I just knew it. She kept them. Please come back with me."

Barney wanted to make things right not only with Rita but with Maria as well. If this was his chance, then he knew he should take it.

"Okay," he agreed.

"Thank you," Rita said. She wasn't angry at Barney for what happened. She did feel a bit of anger towards her mother for not telling Barney Rita existed. Barney legit didn't know, and when he did find out, it was at the most inconvenient time.

"I told you once," Barney said, reading her mind. "In one of our resets. You did not take it well at all."

"Were you planning on telling me before you died?"

"Absolutely. I just was waiting for the right time. I guess that got derailed."

"It won't this time. Let me help your team take down Ivan, and we'll go for a trip," Rita said.

"I'll hold you to it."

She smiled and patted his hand before standing up and going to find Tool.

...

It was very easy to take down Ivan now that they knew what he was going to do. The surprise on his face when they ambushed him was worth it. Tool got the kill shot in, and he stood over Ivan's body for a moment before holstering his gun. They left and went back to Tool's place. Toll and Gunner went to see Barney in the hospital while Doc and Caesar argued where to get take out from for lunch. Tool went to be alone in his room.

"Why did you reset the day?" Lee asked when they were alone upstairs. They were sitting side by side on the end of her bed. She confided in him the truth. She never wanted to lie to him. She knew he was aware of Barney having cancer because she saw him talk to Toll again.

"Barney died," Rita said simply.

"He did?"

"Yes, and before he died he told me I was his daughter."

"Wait...what?" Lee asked, shocked.

"I didn't want him to die without talking to him about it. Also, I wanted him to see my mother one last time."

"This is so strange," Lee said, feeling weird.

"I want you to come too," she went on. "I need all the support I can get when I confront my stepfather."

"What did he do?" Lee asked, suspicious. Rita remembered he didn't know yet in this reset.

"He hurt me very badly, and he needs to be held accountable for it," Rita answered.

"I'll kill him," Lee said on cue.

"Leave that to me," Rita said, putting her hand on his arm. "If it comes to that."

"I can't promise anything," he replied.

"Okay," she sighed, smiling. She kissed him then, and he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Don't tell me you've now slept with me twice without my remembering," Lee said after a moment. She paused, biting her lip.

"Sorry," she said.

"Oh come on," he laughed.

"I'll make it up to you," she promised as he fell backwards on her bed, taking her with him.

"I know you will," he replied.

And she did.

**Two Days Later**

"You okay?" Lee asked Barney as he sat down in his seat and started the plane. Rita explained Maria was currently living in Arizona.

"This is why I didn't want anyone to know I was sick," Barney replied. "I don't need the sympathy shit." He knew Rita had told Lee.

"I meant are you okay with seeing the woman you love after all this time," Lee corrected. "But thanks for biting my head off."

"Oh," Barney said. "Right."

Lee just shook his head as he looked out the window. Rita and Tool were in the back. Tool had insisted on joining them as he wanted to give Tony a piece of his mind as well.

"I'm not okay," Barney said after a moment when the plane was in the air.

"I figured," Lee noted.

"I should never have left her. She deserved to have a good life, and it doesn't sound like she got one with that loser."

"I have a bet with Tool that she is going to punch you," Lee confessed. Barney started to laugh then, making Lee join in.

"She probably will," Barney agreed when he stopped.

"I want to kill Tony," Lee said quietly so Rita couldn't hear.

"Get in line," Barney retorted.

"It's nice not to be flying towards certain death, huh?" Rita asked, coming to stand in between them suddenly.

"Yea," Barney agreed.

"I don't remember that," Lee said.

"Be glad you don't," Barney told him. Lee didn't comment, and they didn't talk for a bit until Rita did.

"Are you nervous about seeing Mum?" she asked.

"That's like the question of the hour," Barney sighed.

"Don't be. I think she'll be very happy to see you."

"You seem awfully sure about that."

"I told you why."

"Yea, you did," Barney nodded, remembering their conversation in the hospital. He got lost in thought, then, thinking about Maria and how much he had thought of her since the last time he saw her all those years ago.

He really hoped she wouldn't be furious with him.


	13. Chapter 13

**38 Years Ago**

Barney stood looking down at Maria as she slept. He knew it was the coward's way out, but they had fought about it long enough. He told her being with him would cause her pain, and she insisted it wouldn't matter to her, that she would be okay if something happened to him. She said their love would be enough.

Barney knew he didn't deserve her. That was the biggest thing, and he hadn't told her that. Maria was too good for him, and he didn't want to bring her down with him. He knew what path he was going down, the mess he was in, and she needed to be free from it.

"I love you," he whispered as he bent to kiss her forehead one last time. "I always will."

He paused to watch her breathe a little bit longer. Then he was gone.

**Present Day **

Barney paused at the end of the walkway as Rita, Lee, and Tool went ahead. He felt shaky and nauseous. He knew it was probably just his cancer talking, but he was afraid to see Maria. Lee noticed and stopped, making Rita look at him.

"Give us a minute," he said. She nodded and went on ahead with Tool. He hadn't seen his sister in a while either. Lee walked back to Barney, who was standing and staring at the house.

"I can't do this, Christmas," he said.

"You've done a lot crazier shit in your life than walking into your ex's house," Lee pointed out.

"Have you ever had an angry ex unleash on you?"

"No."

"Me either, and I don't really want to find out what that entails," Barney sighed.

"It'll be fine," Lee assured him, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder and squeezing it. "I'm right here."

"That won't stop her," Barney snorted.

"Come on," Lee urged. "You don't want her to see you hesitating."

They started walking again, and Barney felt like he was going to throw up. He could see Rita standing in the doorway talking to someone. Then he was standing next to her, and Maria was looking back at him.

"Barney Ross," she said. She was still beautiful. Her brown hair had greyed a lot, but her eyes were still fierce and hazel.

"Maria," he nodded.

Then she punched him in the face.

...

Tool handed Lee the money from their bet as Barney pressed the pack of frozen peas on his face. Maria stood there staring at him. They both knew he didn't need the peas, but Maria didn't want to appear rude by not offering them to him, and Barney didn't want to appear rude by not accepting.

"So," she said. "What brings you here?"

"And you said she wouldn't be mad," Barney said to Rita almost accusingly.

"I'm a lot of things right now," Maria told him.

"Mum, don't be mad," Rita said to her. "Please."

"What's this?" Tool asked, taking Maria's arm in his hands and looking at the bruise just under the cuff of her shirt. They were definitely finger marks.

"Nothing," she said, yanking her arm back.

"I knew it," Tool growled. Just then, Tony entered.

"What the hell is going on in here?" he demanded. Tool was on him in a flash, pinning him against the wall, his hand around Tony's neck firmly.

"Aidan! Stop it," Maria said angrily. Lee raised a brow. So that was Tool's real name.

"I made a vow the day you were brought to our family that I'd never let anyone hurt you," Tool told her.

"Let him go," Maria ordered, staring at him. Tool reluctantly obeyed, and Tony coughed and spluttered.

"I thought you were brother and sister," Barney said.

"I'm adopted," Maria explained. "An English girl adopted into an Irish family. I was eight at the time."

"Is someone going to tell me why I was just assaulted?" Tony demanded.

"Rita," Tool said, looking at her. Rita's eyes widened, and she shook her head.

"What? Did she tell you lies about me? You do know she's a liar, right?" Tony spat. Rita grabbed Lee's arm before he could launch himself onto Tony next.

"Don't," she hissed.

"Why don't we catch up?" Maria said, going over to Rita and tugging her away. She could feel Tony's eyes on the back of her head. They went outside, and they stopped in the gazebo in the backyard.

"How's Daniel?" Rita asked.

"He's a lot better. He's in remission now," Maria answered. "He keeps asking after his sister."

"I'll go see him soon," Rita promised. Her brother had ulcerative colitis, and the last flare he had was a violent one. It didn't help that he hadn't told a soul how bad it got until he started bleeding just standing in the shower. He was only 31, and they were talking about removing his colon completely if he couldn't stay in remission or if he had dysplasia. Rita felt really bad for her brother.

"So why are you really here?" Maria asked.

"I know Barney is my father," Rita answered. "And there's something I need to tell you."

"How do you know Barney is your father?"

"He told me."

"Ah."

"You didn't tell him about me."

"No, I didn't."

"Why not?"

"I was doing him a favor," Maria said. "He didn't need anyone ever being held as leverage over him."

Rita was quiet after this. Her mother had a point, but she was still a bit miffed about it.

"What did you want to tell me?" Maria prompted.

"Tony."

"I see," Maria said, sitting down slowly. It pained Rita to tell her mother any of this, but she had to.

"He sexually abused me, Mum," Rita said. "He threatened to hurt Daniel if I didn't comply."

Maria closed her eyes briefly, horrified. She had endured her own abuse from Tony over the years, but she had never expected him to hurt her children.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I should have seen it. I should have protected you."

"Why else did you think I left home so young?" Rita asked.

"Not because of that," Maria said. "I just thought you were angry at me for something."

"Tony didn't just hurt me. He hurt all of us. Why did you stay with him?" Rita asked.

"I had to," Maria said.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't say anymore than that."

"Oh my God," Rita said, realizing. "You're undercover."

"Excuse me?"

"I know you're CIA. We found that out earlier this week."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Maria insisted.

"Uncle told me. It was on the memory stick Ivan Zolotov wanted."

Maria surveyed her daughter very carefully and could tell Rita was being serious.

"You need to leave," Maria said.

"Was having a child with Tony part of the plan?"

"Daniel wasn't planned."

"I don't believe you. So you stayed with this monster because of a cover?" Rita asked, outraged.

"I think it's best if you leave," Maria said, standing now.

"You don't believe me," Rita said, shocked.

"I believe you, but there isn't anything I can do about it right now."

Rita felt like crying. This was why she didn't want to tell her mother. She didn't want to risk getting hurt because her mother had her own agenda.

"Did you ever love Barney?" Rita asked, her voice a whisper. Maria's face softened then.

"Since the first time I saw him," she answered.

"I have to go," Rita said, stumbling back to the house.

"Rita," Maria called after her. Rita ignored her. She burst into the house, seeing Tony cornered by Lee, Tool, and Barney. Lee looked at her when she came inside.

"Let's go," she said.

"You sure?" Lee asked.

Tony gave her a smirk then.

"Didn't buy your story, did she?" he sneered. Rita marched over to him and popped him right in the kisser, hard. He howled. Rita took Lee's hand and pulled him with her out the front door before either she or he could further harm Tony.

Tool and Barney looked at each other while Tony rubbed his face, scowling. Maria appeared in the doorway, and from the look on her face, Barney could tell she believed Rita and loathed Tony for what he did. He wasn't sure why she wasn't saying anything, though. Maria went over to Barney and took his hands in hers.

"Thank you for coming. It was nice to meet you," she said. She hugged Tool next. "Take care, brother. I'll tell Daniel you said hello."

She stepped back, and they took that as their cue to leave. Barney looked back to find Tony muttering to himself and splashing his face at the sink while Maria never broke eye contact with Barney until he disappeared out the front door.

...

"Unbelievable," Rita said. She was pacing angrily in the street.

"What happened?" Lee asked.

"She is undercover, that's what," Rita said, furious. "She can't break her cover, so she isn't going to leave him. I was so sure this would be the last straw, that this on top of what she went through would be enough."

Lee didn't know what to say to that. He was enraged inside, but he knew killing Tony wasn't going to be helpful in this current moment. Barney and Tool approached them before too long, and Rita was now leaning against the truck with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

"What did she say to you?" Tool asked, standing in front of her.

"She's undercover right now," Rita answered. Tool sighed.

"She is."

"You knew?!"

"I did. That's why Ivan couldn't have that stick."

"You told me she had been out since Rita was born," Barney accused. He'd gotten it out of Tool about what was on that stick after they took down Ivan. He found himself pissed that his friend had lied to him again.

"I was protecting her cover," Tool replied.

"I told you I didn't want to bring this up. I wish I hadn't," Rita said angrily.

"If it was her choice, she would leave," Barney chimed in. They all looked at him. He held up a piece of paper that Maria had put into his hands before he left.

"What is that?" Rita asked.

"Ian Grant," Barney answered.

"Who is that?" Lee asked.

"That is Tony."

"And what is he all about?"

"He is an accomplice to Ivan," Tool answered.

"Of course he is," Lee sighed.

"If Ivan knew that Maria is CIA..." Tool started.

"Then Ian/Tony knows too," Barney finished for him. They looked back at the house just as the first scream rang out. They were all instantly running back towards the house.

"I know who you are," Tony was saying. He had Maria bent in an awkward position while holding her down on the table. "I will end you. I will end your family."

"Bad idea," Barney said, aiming his gun at Tony, who had a gun aimed at Maria.

"Give me a reason," Rita said, her gun also aimed at him. "Just one."

"The cavalry has arrived," Tony said to Maria. "You're lucky. An hour later, and you'd be dead."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Maria said, her voice muffled.

"I got an email this morning. It was from a friend of mine. It was set to send to me if something should happen to him. Looks like something did," Tony said. "And you're in on it."

"I'm not..."

"Put the gun down, Ian," Barney said. Tony/Ian looked at him.

"Shan't," he said. He looked at Rita next. "All you had to do was keep your mouth shut."

Rita gripped her gun hard. She very badly wanted to shoot him.

"Last time, put the gun down," Barney said again. Tony/Ian smiled. Then he aimed and fired, striking Rita right in her heart.

She was dead before she hit the floor.


	14. Chapter 14

Rita jolted upright, clutching at her chest. She was shaking and feeling her heart rate going crazy. She looked at the clock. It was around five in the morning, 24 hours earlier from when she died. Stirring beside her made her jump again until she realized it was just Lee shifting in his sleep.

She disliked being so damn jumpy.

She slid out of bed and grabbed her phone from the nightstand, taking it with her as she went downstairs and outside. She didn't want anyone to overhear her. She knew it was around three in the morning where her mother was, but she didn't care. She pressed her phone to her ear hard.

"Hello?" Maria's voice answered, groggy with sleep. "Rita?"

"Mum, I need to talk to you," Rita said urgently.

"Is something wrong?"

"Just go somewhere private please."

"What's going on?" Tony's voice said in the background.

"It's Rita," Maria answered. "She's sick." It was a lie, but one that Tony appeared to buy as Rita could hear her mother walking now. After a few moments, Rita heard a door shut quietly.

"You alone?" Rita asked.

"What is going on? Why are you calling me so late?" Maria asked.

"You have to get out of there."

"What?"

"Right now. Mum, he knows you're CIA."

"Excuse me?" Maria spluttered.

"His real name is Ian Grant. You've been undercover with him for years. He's in cahoots with Ivan Zolotov, who we just killed yesterday. Ian is going to get an email tomorrow that tells him you are CIA, and he is going to kill you."

"Rita, this is all such nonsense..."

"I am telling the truth," Rita said fiercely. "And you know it."

Maria was quiet for a moment, and Rita knew she had her.

"I can't leave. Ian leads me to different underground activities. Without him, so much would be going on that we wouldn't know about. I took one for the team," Maria said eventually.

"You don't understand. He is going to kill you," Rita said more forcefully.

"How do you know that?"

"Please just trust me."

"I will when you tell me how you know," Maria said stubbornly. Rita growled in frustration.

"I have a power in me from the alien race I defeated," Rita said. "I can reset the day. I was at your house tomorrow, and Ian was about to kill you before he shot me."

Maria started to laugh at this. When Rita said nothing, she slowly stopped.

"You're serious."

"Dead serious, Mum."

"Thank you for calling," Maria said finally.

"Mum!"

"Goodbye," Maria said firmly. Rita went to speak when the call was disconnected. She stared at her phone in disbelief. Then she charged back into the house. She flung open Barney's bedroom door, causing him to sit upright and point a gun at her. She turned the light on, and he blinked.

"What the hell?" he asked.

"We have to go," she said.

"Where?"

"Mum is going to get killed."

"You reset the day again?!" Barney asked, incredulous.

"Not intentionally. Tony killed me," Rita answered. "Except he's really Ian Grant, and he's an accomplice to Ivan. He finds out Mum is CIA from an email that Ivan had on a time delay, and he is going to kill her."

"Hold on," Barney said, holding out his one hand. His other was still holding the gun. "Your mother is still an active CIA agent?"

"Yes."

"Oye," Barney said, shaking his head.

"She won't believe me. We have to get to her right now," Rita urged.

"All right, all right," Barney agreed, gesturing with his gun. "Go get ready. I'll be ready in five."

"Thank you," Rita said, turning and rushing back up to her room. She turned the light on and began to change. Lee groaned and opened his eyes blearily.

"What's happening?" he asked. He took in Rita dancing around trying to get her socks on.

"My mother is in danger. We're leaving to save her," Rita answered. Lee processed this information, wondering how she knew this.

"You've reset again, haven't you?" he asked, realizing.

"Not my fault. I didn't know the bastard was going to shoot me," Rita growled, putting on her leg holster and cramming her gun into it. Lee sat up at this point, still foggy with sleep.

"Shoot you? Who did?"

"Tony! Keep up," she said, annoyed.

"Forgive me that I'm not privy to the same information you are," Lee said sarcastically. She stopped then, catching her breath.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I keep forgetting that."

"It's fine." He got up and threw his t-shirt on and started hunting for his pants. They went downstairs and found Barney standing by the door, waiting.

"What about Uncle?" Rita asked.

"I'm here," Tool said, coming into view. Barney had told him what was going on, and he was not staying behind.

"It's all right," Barney said to Rita, putting his hand on her shoulder. "We'll get her out of there."

Rita didn't say a word, just nodded. Then they set off into the dark.

**Arizona-Maria's House**

"Whoa," Barney said, grabbing Rita's collar as she went to barge up to the house. "Think this through."

"It's almost eight in the morning, and Ian is going to read that email," Rita argued. "If he hasn't already."

"Bustin' in there guns a blazin' is not going to be any good," Barney said. "I know you want to just cap him, but let's not. Not yet anyway. There is a reason your mother hasn't already killed him."

"He leads her to other organized crimes," Rita told him. "That's why."

"Just go knock on the door," Barney instructed. Rita removed his hand from her collar and did so. Lee, Tool, and Barney hung back, watching. Rita waited, but nothing happened. She knocked again.

"Mum?" she called. Frowning, she peered into the window. There was no movement inside. She tried the door, and it was unlocked. She pushed it open, looking back at the guys briefly before going in.

"Come on," Barney said, leading the way when she disappeared.

Rita didn't like the eerie quiet. She knew something was wrong. Lee followed her as she went upstairs slowly. She pulled her gun out, holding it in front of her as she walked. Lee did the same.

She stopped outside her mother's bedroom, making Lee bump into her by accident. She cautiously went inside and gasped at the sight before her.

"What the hell?" Lee asked. Ian/Tony was at the foot of the bed with a laptop in front of him playing graphic scenes, the noose around his neck having left marks. He was in his boxers.

"Oh God," Tool said, coming in and then looking away. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Your mother is very clever," Lee said.

"She made it look like he accidentally killed himself," Rita murmured. She looked at Lee. "So where is she?"

"She's not here," Barney said, coming in. He gave a snort of laughter upon the sight. "How original."

"She believed me," Rita said, holstering her gun.

"We better split before the cops show up," Tool said. "No doubt she sent in an anonymous tip or something."

"Don't leave any boot tracks," Barney instructed. Thankfully, none of them had any dirt or mud on their boots, so nothing was left. They still checked to make sure. When they got back into the truck, Rita wondered if she'd ever see her mother again. That was when she noticed the voicemail. She dialed in, listening to it.

"Hi, sweetie. Just calling to tell you how much I'm enjoying my vacation. Daniel is too. He says hello. We're gonna be staying here for a while. It's nice to just have a vacation, you know? The sun is always bright here. I love you, and I want you to know that I believe in you. You make me proud. Ciao for now."

Barney watched Rita carefully as she lowered her phone and clicked it off.

"From your mother?" he asked.

"Yea. She said she and Daniel are on vacation, and the sun is always bright there."

"She believed you," Lee commented.

"She did," Rita nodded. She felt a lump in her throat. She would have liked to have said goodbye at least. She knew her mother would have ditched her phone after leaving her the message.

"It'll be all right. She's all right," Lee said, putting his arm around her. She rested her head into his shoulder, jostling along with the bumps on the road as they drove.

**Weeks Later**

Barney knew his time was coming to a close. Forget less than three months. He was barely functioning now. He put on a brave face and let on he was fine to his friends and colleagues, but it was getting harder to do so lately.

"What is it?" Toll asked when Barney approached him. He was working on his rifle, cleaning it and such.

"If we're doing this goodbye thing, we should do it very soon. Like tonight," Barney said.

Toll stopped what he was doing and looked at Barney sadly.

"Yea?"

"Yea," Barney nodded.

"Okay."

"Thanks, Toll."

"No problem."

...

Lee found Rita standing alone by the river. Ever since her mother had disappeared, Rita had not been doing so well.

"Hey," he said, approaching her. He stood beside her carefully. He didn't know if she wanted affection or not. Their relationship had kind of paused since everything had happened.

"I just wish I knew where she was," Rita said, hugging herself.

"In that business, you can't exactly keep in touch with family."

"She took Daniel with her."

"He was ill," Lee pointed out. "He needed her."

"I need her!" Rita shouted. She felt those damn tears coming again and turned away from him so he wouldn't see.

"I think she knows you are the stronger one," Lee said slowly. "That you don't need her as much as you think you do."

"Every daughter needs their mother, Lee," Rita said quietly.

"I don't know how to help you feel better," Lee admitted.

"You can't."

"Do you even want me around?" he asked. He had to know. If she was done with him, he might as well know now.

Rita knew she had pushed him away, and she hadn't meant to.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I just...I don't know what I want right now."

"Okay," he nodded. "I'll see you later."

Rita felt bad as she watched him walk away. She really had messed everything up.

...

Barney sipped his beer and smiled as he watched his friends interacting with each other. Caesar and Tool were cooking, which was causing some competition with each other. It was friendly competition so far. Yang had come with Trench, and they were talking with Gunner. Toll and Doc were talking and observing. Every so often, Barney would join in on a conversation, but he was mostly fine with just watching. He wondered how many knew he was sick aside from Tool, Lee, Rita, and Toll. He noticed Toll kept looking over at him, but Barney just smiled in return.

"You don't look well," Trench commented, sitting down beside him at the bar. Galgo, Luna, Mars, Thorn, and John entered at this point, laughing amongst each other. They mingled with the others easily.

"Thanks," Barney replied.

"Is that why we're having a big to do? Are you dying?" Trench asked. Barney looked at him.

"Why does having a gathering mean someone is gonna die?" he countered.

"It's just very unusual for you."

"Just enjoy yourself, Trench," Barney said. Trench raised his beer in return and got up to join the others. Lee came in and looked as though his dog had died. Barney waved him over.

"You're saying goodbye, aren't you?" Lee asked accusingly.

"I'm not doing so great, Lee."

"I thought you didn't want to die from the cancer?"

"I don't."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"Don't ask me that," Barney answered. "Please."

Lee looked at his friend somberly and suddenly didn't want to know what Barney had planned.

"Okay," he agreed. "I won't."

"Where's Rita?" Barney inquired.

"Doing her thing."

"She'll be all right, Lee," Barney advised. "Just give her time." He and Rita had spent a lot of time together in the past weeks. He wished he had found her sooner and got more time with her. Life was mean that way.

"I am," Lee argued. "I think it's safe to say it's over."

"Always so negative," Barney tutted.

"She doesn't return my calls, doesn't want to see me, and barely texts me. I think that's a pretty big indicator it's over."

"She has had a lot dumped on her. She's processing."

"For three weeks?"

"That's nothing," Barney scoffed. Caesar was waving him over then. "I gotta mingle. When you're finished brooding, you can join us."

Lee scowled at him as he smirked and left him sitting there.

...

Rita was standing outside Tool's place when her phone rang. She didn't recognize the number, but she answered it anyway.

"Mum?" she asked. She had a feeling.

"Rita, luv, can you talk?" Maria asked.

"Yes," Rita answered, feeling immense relief. "I'm so glad you're okay. Where are you?"

"I'm safe. We're both safe."

"Why can't I know where you are?"

"It's just better that way. I'm sorry."

"Did you kill Tony?"

"The police said he died accidentally," Maria answered.

"Mum, he really hurt me," Rita started.

"I found out. I always feared what he was capable of doing to me he'd do to you. I'm sorry I didn't know to stop it. I'm sorry you got so hurt."

"When did you find out?"

"I found his photo collection as I was packing to leave."

"Oh, Mum," Rita said, gripping her face.

"I burned them."

"Thank you. I...I didn't know he did that."

"I'm very sorry," Maria said again. "I should have paid better attention."

"I've done a lot of healing since then. I promise," Rita assured her.

"You should never have had to," Maria replied.

"Will I ever see you again?" Rita asked.

"You will. I just have to lay low for a while."

"I know who my father is. I'm here with him. Barney Ross," Rita blurted out. She heard Maria inhale sharply and exhale slowly.

"That's a name I haven't heard in a long time."

"He still loves you."

"Well, that's good to know."

"I wanted him to see you one last time. He's dying, Mum. Cancer."

"We've had our goodbye," Maria said. "Even if it was a long time ago. It still stands."

Rita knew better than to push it. She had to let it go.

"I love you," she said instead.

"I love you too. I'll be in touch," Maria promised. They hung up, and Rita looked at the door in front of her. She knew she had to go in there and put on a smile for everyone. She knew why Barney was doing this, and she respected his wishes enough to not tell the others. She just hoped he would on his own.


	15. Chapter 15

Lee looked up to see Rita come inside, and she headed over to him immediately.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I pushed you away, and I shouldn't have."

"It's okay. I just feel bad I can't help you feel better."

"My mother called. Just now," Rita said. "We're good."

"I'm glad," Lee said back.

"Are we good?" she asked. Lee tapped his fingers on his glass before nodding at her.

"We're good," he smiled. She gave a relieved smile in return, and he pulled her in to kiss her.

"Attention," Barney said, raising his voice. "Over here, fellas."

Everyone turned to face him, and he paused for a moment. Then he cleared his throat.

"I just wanted to say how proud I am of all of you and how appreciative I am to have such good friends. You've always had my back, and I've always had yours. We've had a good run, and like all runs, they gotta end."

This had the attention of those who didn't know Barney was sick. They were looking at each other.

"After tonight, I'm going away. I don't want any of you to feel sad. I don't want any of you to see me in the state I'm going to be in. Life gave me a rather nasty ending, but it's okay cos I never did take the easy way out."

"What are you saying, Barney?" Gunner asked.

"Are you sick?" Caesar asked.

"Yea, I am," Barney answered solemnly.

"How long have you known?" Doc asked.

"A while."

"Where are you going?" Trench asked. Barney smiled.

"That's just for me to know."

Rita felt a huge lump in her throat then. She had spent time with him in the past three weeks, but it still didn't feel long enough. She moved to leave, unable to handle the emotion in the room on top of hers anymore.

"Cheers," Barney said, holding up his beer. "To friendship and family. I love you guys."

Everyone echoed their response as Barney stepped down. He saw Rita leave and decided to go after her.

He found her outside trying to breathe.

"If you had just let me go three weeks ago," Barney started.

"Don't," she stopped him. "I don't regret what I did."

"We had some good times even though it was short," Barney said.

"I know," she nodded. "It's still hard."

"I think you need to give it up."

"I can't."

"You can't live your whole life with that power. If you're meant to die, then you die," Barney argued. "Don't become afraid of death itself. If you keep this power, you will."

"I'll get rid of it one day."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Barney nodded, and they stood there looking at each other.

"I'm not ready to lose you for real this time," she said to him. She teared up, and he pulled her into a hug.

"No one ever is, but it's time."

"You never got to talk to my mother."

"It's okay. We had our goodbyes years ago."

"That's what she said."

"It's okay, Rita," Barney assured her. "I'll be okay. You'll be okay. You've got Lee to help you."

"I know."

"You're the best daughter I could ever ask for, you know," Barney went on. "I mean it."

"Thank you for sticking around instead of going and getting killed again," Rita said.

"I'm glad I did. I'd love to just spend this evening with you, but I have to get back in there and make my rounds," Barney said.

"Will you say goodbye in the morning?" Rita asked.

"Consider this my proper goodbye," he said, kissing her forehead. "I love you, and I'm sorry we didn't get more time. I'll always be in your heart."

"I love you too."

Rita gripped his arms with her hands as he kissed her forehead again and released her. He went back inside, leaving her standing there crying.

...

Morning came, and Rita got up to find Barney was already gone. Tool was having a coffee at the table when she came in.

"I wish he had waited to say goodbye," she said, sitting beside him. He slid her a mug and the coffee pot.

"He's not good with that. I was amazed he said anything last night."

"Where did he go?"

"He didn't tell me," Tool answered. "But I'm sure it's someplace nice."

"I'm really going to miss him," Rita said quietly.

"I will too. We all will," Tool nodded. He reached for her hand and held it. "We're gonna be okay, though, cos we have each other."

"Got some for me?" Lee asked, joining them. He paused to kiss Rita's head before stopping halfway after seeing Tool's expression.

"I didn't know you stayed over," Tool said casually.

"Oh, stop," Rita admonished. "Lee is my boyfriend, Uncle."

"I guess," Tool sighed. Lee sat down and poured himself a coffee. He caught Rita's glance and smirked a little.

"You're not going anywhere anytime soon are you?" he asked Tool.

"Nope. You're stuck with me."

Lee grinned at him, making Tool chuckle in return. Lee slid his foot to touch Rita's, conveying his comfort to her. She appreciated it. She was glad she was able to let Lee in, that he hadn't given up on her. She somehow knew they were in it for the long haul.

...

Barney glanced out at the view before him, a smile on his face. It was beautiful. There was no other place he'd rather be. He stretched out, leaning against the tree trunk. He was somewhere in Hawaii. It was a place on his bucket list where he wanted to go. It was too bad he waited until the end to do it.

"Makes you feel small, doesn't it?" a voice asked.

"Sure does," Barney answered. Maria settled down beside him, taking his hand in hers.

"How did you know where to find me?" she asked.

"'The sun is always bright?' Come on," he laughed. "Also, this is where we always wanted to live."

"That's true," she smiled.

"How's Daniel?"

"He's much better. I think he's gonna be all right."

"Good."

"And Rita? Is she mad at me?"

"She's at peace with what you've done so far," Barney answered. "She was worried we wouldn't get to say goodbye."

"At least this time I'm awake to say goodbye back," Maria pointed out.

"I knew you'd stop me if I woke you up."

"I wish you hadn't left."

"I wish that too."

"We have now at least."

"We do."

"I never stopped loving you," Maria confessed. "Not for a second."

"Me either."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Rita. I just wanted to keep her safe. I didn't want her to ever be used as leverage."

"How is it different from what you did?"

"I know. I failed her. I failed us. I made the wrong choice. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm not blaming. I'm just stating a fact."

They were quiet for a while. Maria rested her head on his shoulder. There was still a little bit of time left, time to reconnect.

"Thank you for finding me."

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be," Barney said. He was back with his true love. He was happy. He was free.

**Days Later**

"Okay," Tool said. "I understand. Thank you. Love you too."

Rita looked at her uncle, and the look on his face said it all.

"He's dead, isn't he?"

"This morning. She found him sitting in his favorite spot watching the sun rise. I guess he decided to let the cancer take him after all."

"She?"

"Your mother."

"What?! How did he find her?"

"Beats me."

"He was with her the last few days?" Rita asked.

"Yea, he was. I think that's what he wanted."

"I'm glad he went. I mean, I wanted them to have time before he was gone," Rita said. She felt a little jealous that Barney hadn't told her where to find her mother.

"You gonna be okay?" Tool asked. He knew it was going to take time for all of them. Barney was a huge part of their lives.

"I will be," she nodded.

"I'm always here," Tool promised as he hugged her. Rita just held onto him, trying to keep it together.

...

They held a small memorial for Barney. Each member of the team stood up to say something meaningful about Barney. There were some laughs, of course, as certain memories were shared. Rita was glad her father had such a good family. She hoped they would become her family after time.

When it was her turn, she stood on shaky legs. Everyone was looking at her.

"Although I didn't get to spend as much time with him as you all did, he still made an impact on me," she started. "He's one of those people who leave a mark. I hope wherever he is, he's enjoying himself. He was a hero, and I will never forget him."

She sat down, and Lee put his arm around her again.

"To Barney," Tool said.

"To Barney," they all echoed, clinking glasses.

Rita just knew that wherever Barney was, he'd be smiling.

**The End**

* * *

**In loving memory of Maria, whose soul was beautiful in every way, taken from us by lung cancer just a month ago. I hope wherever you are, it's beautiful and you're smiling.**


End file.
